What does Flaming June mean to you?
Maybe, it conjures up the vibrant blooms of summer.
A sun-baked beach? (Yes, this is the UK β last summer.)
Or something more like this?
Whether used in earnest or irony, itβs a phrase bandied around at this time of year, much beloved of headline writers and cropping up in conversation. Less often referred to, at least in the world that I inhabit, is its origin, which can be seen in London right now β whatever the weather β and last weekend, I had the chance to do just that.
In a dimly lit gallery, populated by smooth sculptures and dark pictures, mostly framed in tarnished gold, Flaming June gleams out from the wall.
Painted byΒ the British artist Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896), in oil canvas, spanning almost 120x120cm, Flaming June (c.1895) has become something of an icon. Even if you werenβt aware of its title, you may well be familiar with the image.
Whether June is the name of the sleeping beauty, blazing with long red hair and a fiery gown, or a reference to the season in which she was painted, Iβm not quite sure β both have been suggested in subsequent discussions.
The day must be warm β her sheer dress, flushed complexion, the sun shimmering on the water beyond β and the season, summer, with its implied heat and fragrant blooms of highly toxic oleander, edging over the stone wall.
My eye is more used to searching nature photographs for the ingredients that make them successful or otherwise. Here, the use of colour is obvious, but I am also drawn to the circular shape of the slumbering subject within the square frame. I wonder, as others have done, whether Leighton may have deliberately lengthened her thigh and neck to perfect this (clearly, a big no-no in the realm of nature photography).
A few metres away, hangs a portrait of Leighton himself, painted by his friend George Frederic Watts, in 1888.
In the background, reminding us he is both painter and sculptor, are Leightonβs palette and brushes and the base of his well known sculpture Athlete struggling with a Python (though glancing at a statuette of the sculpture displayed next to the portrait, it is not a very accurate rendition).
(Being the pedant that I am, I also couldnβt help noticing that the painterβs name on the frame is spelt Frederick, while in almost all writing about him, it is Frederic, or, dodging commitment entirely, GF Watts).
Leightonβs portrait is surrounded by some of his other work: sculptures, sketches. Nothing remotely like Flaming June.
The display as a whole (explains the blurb on the gallery wall) examines Leightonβs methodical approach to painting β not unlike the meticulous planning of images practised by some professional nature photographers I have worked with β along with his love of the past and, in particular, the role of sculpture in his work.
Leighton apparently suggested that the composition of Flaming June stemmed from a chance moment when the model fell asleep, but, says the blurb, Leighton was dedicated to sixteenth-century art and particularly inspired by Michelangelo, and the origin of the painting can be traced to the sculptor.
Of course, some art critics are less than impressed by this iconic, Victorian image. If it were a nature photograph, I can see I might view it as having great impact but lacking a strong narrative and enduring interest. But I do rather like it β the vivid orange, the luxurious flow of fabric and the way its title has seeped into our language β especially now that Iβve seen it for real, lighting up the gallery in which it temporarily hangs, rather on screen or in print, colours askew and detail lost.
You can see the original Flaming June (for free) at the Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly, until 12 January 2025 (on loan from the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico).
The entrance on Burlington Gardens is most convenient to reach this particular painting, but head for the main entrance, on Piccadilly, if you fancy a wander through the labyrinth of rooms, taking in some grand architecture and a diversity of art.
Did not know this is where βFlaming Juneβ came from! Thank you!