Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1830-1896)

The present drawing is a study for Leighton's monumental nineteen foot long painting, exhibited at the R.A. in 1876 (now Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight). The Daphnephoria was an Ancient Greek festival held every nine years in Thebes in honour of the sun god, Apollo. Daphnephorus is Greek for 'bearer of laurel', the leaf associated with Apollo. It was a festival celebrating art and beauty, and Leighton intended the picture to do the same. The present drawing is a study for the figures of a woman and child who sit on the wall behind the processional route at the right hand side of the composition.