| Actaea, the Nymph of the Shore | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Frederic Leighton |
| Year | 1868 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 57.2 cm× 102.2 cm(22.5 in× 40.2 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Canada |
Actaea, the Nymph of the Shore is an oil painting by Frederic Leighton, first exhibited in 1868.
In 1868, Leighton was elected Royal Academician, and the Academy had six contributions from his prolific palette which fixed his reputation as the creator of ideal form. His style bore the unmistakable influence of his recent visits to Greece, and projected new visions of themes which had attracted him in childhood. Among the mythological subjects exhibited in 1868 was Actaea, the Nymph of the Shore. [1]
Actaea was one of the Nereids of Greek mythology: the fifty daughters of the sea-god Nereus who lived in the Aegean Sea. The seashore depicted in the painting was familiar to Leighton from his visit to Rhodes in 1867. [2]
The picture represents a small, full-length figure, fully nude, on white drapery, lying on the seashore. The landscape with the sea is a vision of one of the islands of the Greek seas. According to Edgcumbe Staley, "It is a beautiful work, full of ideal grace and refinement." [3]
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Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton,, known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subject matter in an academic style. His paintings were enormously popular and expensive, during his lifetime, but fell out of critical favour for many decades in the early 20th century.
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