Focus on this artwork and discuss the abstract.
Flaming June is a painting by Sir Frederic Leighton, produced in 1895. Painted with oil paints on a 47-by-47-inch (1,200 mm × 1,200 mm) square canvas, it is widely considered to be Leighton's best-known work in the 21st century, much reproduced in posters and the like. It shows a sensuous version of his classicist Academic style. It is thought that the woman portrayed alludes to the figures of sleeping nymphs and naiads the Greeks often sculpted.
Flaming June disappeared from view in the 1930s and was rediscovered in the 1960s. It was auctioned shortly after, during a period of time known to be difficult for selling Victorian era paintings, where it failed to sell for its low reserve price of US$140 (the equivalent of $1,126 in modern prices). After the auction, it was promptly purchased by the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is currently on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where it will be on display until February 2024.
oil paint Academic style New York City Ponce, Puerto Rico nymph naiad Greeks Museo de Arte de Ponce Frederic Leighton Metropolitan Museum of Art