The Return of Persephone

c. 1891

Oil on canvas, 203 × 152.4 cm · Leeds Art Gallery

A tall Victorian canvas planned through many drawings; a squared-up tracing of 1891 at the Royal Academy matches the finished picture almost exactly. Sir James Kitson bought it and gave it to Leeds.

Hermes lifts Persephone up out of the underworld toward her mother Demeter, at left.
Leighton made separate studies for the heavy drapery.
A 1905 guide counted nineteen preparatory drawings; many survive in British collections.
Published as a photogravure by the Fine Art Society in 1897.

Demeter’s grief for her daughter left the earth barren until Zeus sent Hermes to bring Persephone back. She must return below for part of each year, which is why winter comes.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain