Cymon and Iphigenia Frederic Leighton Buy Art Prints Now
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by
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
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Cymon and Iphigenia is an oil painting from Frederic Leighton who was a famous British painter from the 19th century.

It is one of the few Leighton paintings to be located permanently outside Europe, following its purchase by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia in 1976. Several Victorian artists fell out of fashion during the 20th century and the lower valuations of their work at auction led to a wider dispersal of them, with more able to afford to bid. There have also been export blocks on famous British art which would not have applied to artists like Leighton at that time.

One interesting note to this piece is that the artist spent many months locating the right model to pose as Iphigenia. Despite already having a plethora of potential models to choose from, he felt it necessary to throw his net yet wider. Dorothy Dene was to come to his attention during a theatre show following an extensive six month search. His classical style of art which was inspired by Ancient Greece would require someone of appropriate features to pose for his portrait paintings.