Flaming June – Royal Academy, London

This much-lauded return of one of Frederic, Lord Leighton’s final RA submissions is not quite as exciting as intended. Perhaps best to see it in Puerto Rico where it’s the star of the show?

Flaming June

It’s not normally the Royal Academy I come to for small, free exhibitions. The National Gallery is a more frequent source of those. But I was intrigued by an exhibition dedicated to the return of Flaming June. The name of the artwork or even the artist (Frederic, Lord Leighton) may not ring any bells. But you’ve likely seen Flaming June before. It’s exactly the type of artwork I think of when I remember the poster sales that used to pop up at my university, to help aspiring adults adorn their walls and figure out their tastes. Bold, with a balance between high-brow and sensuous.

And I’m not denigrating the painting there. I don’t know if this is still the case in student dorms, but art nouveau and turn-of-the-century maidens were all the rage when I was attending those poster sales. And there is no doubt that Frederic, Lord Leighton was a purveyor of anything less than high-brow art. He was President of the Royal Academy between 1878 and his death in 1896, after all.

But enough chit chat. What’s this exhibition all about? Well, it has to do with an earthquake in January 2020. An earthquake which caused severe damage to the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico. Flaming June just happens to be one of the centrepieces of the museum’s collection. Restoration is ongoing and, while it is, Flaming June is having a bit of a vacation in a few locations including New York and London. Other works from the collection are also travelling during this period.

A Flame, or a Fizzle?

The Royal Academy have put together a display which focuses on Leighton’s inspiration and the process of learning to be an artist in the 19th century. This was the tail end of the days of learning from classical examples. Students drew from casts and copied Renaissance masters like Michelangelo before eventually moving on to live models and their own compositions. The display has a few of these classical sources, as well as a painting by Johann Zoffany which shows what art classes were like at the time. The idea is to show the influence of sculpture on Leighton’s work and this painting in particular.

One disappointment I had with the display was a lack of sense of occasion. It’s in the free upstairs gallery which houses works from the RA’s own collection, and what’s different than usual is not immediately apparent when you enter. Flaming June is on a side wall and looks a little non-descript.

I think it’s partly this placement that made me wonder if I would have been better off waiting to see the painting at home in Puerto Rico some day. Luis Ferré, who among other roles was Governor of Puerto Rico for a time, amassed an immense private art collection. This is the basis for the Museo de Arte de Ponce. He bought according to his tastes, including a lot of then-unfashionable Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian works. Perhaps within this context, and firmly cemented as one of the must-see works, Leighton’s slumbering figure would seem more of a big deal?

As it is, she’s fine. Statuesque: you can see the influence of Michelangelo. The orange is bold, and the cropped composition is both more immediate and less tantalising than the ancient worlds of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, an example of which is nearby. Fine. Worth popping in if you’re already at the RA. Not worth a dedicated trip.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 2.5/5

Flaming June on until 12 January 2025. More info here.