Edmund Blair Leighton (1852 - 1922)

Edmund Blair Leighton

Edmund Blair Leighton was a British Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite painter.

Edmund Leighton received his first lessons from his artist father and perfected his skills at the Royal Academy School. He painted genre pictures, but often favored historical themes, especially from the medieval life of knights and their ladies, when choosing subjects. Romantic illusions about the beautiful, mythical world of King Arthur attracted the Victorian bourgeoisie. Thanks in large part to Leighton's paintings, modern people still make up their minds about medieval legends and subtle romantic sentiments. The sad beautiful maiden on the steps of a stone castle, the knight in shining armor on a white horse and other symbols have firmly established themselves for that generally gloomy era.