Study for 'Winding the skein'

This drawing by Frederic Leighton, which has been squared for transfer, is preparatory to his canvas of circa 1878, 'Winding the skein'. Leighton translates the domestic activity of winding balls of wool into an idyllic vision of classical antiquity set against the bay of Lindos on the island of Rhodes. The landscape is based on oil sketches made on the site in 1867, an example of which is in the Art Gallery’s collection. In 1877 Leighton made a further trip this time to Spain to find the sky effect for this picture, but he failed to find that ‘clear, keen autumn weather … which I had the right to demand of a Mediterranean October.’

Leighton carefully planned all of his large paintings through detailed drawings. He made studies from the nude for almost all his compositions before producing separate drapery studies once the pose was finalised. When the figures were fully resolved, Leighton made small-scale, squared-up drawings on tracing paper in readiness to transfer the design to the canvas square by square. The figures are drawn in simple outline, without shading, but Leighton adjusted the figure of the young girl in the final composition, turning her towards the viewer so that her face is seen in more insistent profile. Leighton also abandoned the bird cage on the low parapet, presumably to afford an unhindered view across the bay.