alue, and escaped at once the photographic
imitation of one school, and the evasion of detail of another. They all
preserve a certain classic repose, without violence to topographical
accuracy, or painter-like intention.

[Illustration: STUDY FOR THE CEILING OF A MUSIC-ROOM]

[Illustration: STUDY FOR THE CEILING OF A MUSIC-ROOM]

[Illustration]

[Illustrations: DECORATION FOR THE CEILING OF A MUSIC-ROOM]

We have had occasion to refer frequently, in passing, to Leighton's
decorative works, but we have purposely deferred any description of
them, preferring to treat them separately. To know how present was his
feeling for decorative effect at all times, it is sufficient to glance
never so casually at his own house, about which we hope presently to say
something,--genuine expression as it is of his Art. Now we wish rather
to touch on his more public performances. Of these, the famous frescoes
which fill large lunettes in the central court at South Kensington, _The
Industrial Arts of War_ and _The Industrial Arts of Peace_, are the best
known, as they are among the most characteristic of all the artist's
productions.

The fresco of _The Arts of War_ is a very complex piece of work. It is
crowded with figures, full of that orderly disorder which one must
expect to find, on the hurried morning of a day of battle, in these
delightfully decorative warriors. "In the centre"--we quote here Mrs.
Lang's description--"is a white marble staircase, leading from the
quadrangle to an archway, beyond which is another courtyard. Seen
through the archway, knights are riding by.... The busy scene in the
courtyard suggests an immediate departure to the seat of war. In the
corner to the right crossbows are being chosen and tested; a man is
kneeling by a pile of swords, and descanting on their various merits to
an undecided customer, while those weapons that he has already disposed
of are having their blades tried and felt. A little way off, to the left
of the archway, some men-at-arms are trying on the armour of a youth who
has still to win his spurs.... The whole is distinguished by the extreme
naturalness and simplicity of all the actions, and by soft, glowing
colours, chiefly dark olive green and splendid saffrons."

In _The Arts of Peace_, its companion, the central portion of the fresco
is devised as the interior of a Greek house, where within a semicircular
alcove we see a number of Greek maidens and older women, deligh