The End of the Song
Edmund Blair Leighton, 1902
In The End of the Song, Edmund Blair Leighton shows a young princess and a harpist seated on the veranda of a palace. The musician has just finished his song and is flirting with her, while she sets aside her embroidery and responds shyly. Between them, honeysuckle climbs a column, a traditional emblem of love and new beginnings. In the background, a crowned king climbs the steps from the forest, apparently the princess's father, watching the scene unnoticed as he strokes his beard in thought. The composition makes the viewer a silent witness to this unseen gaze. The harp may have been modelled on an instrument the painter owned, since Leighton collected old musical instruments. The picture recalls two famous pairs of lovers, Tristan and Iseult and Paolo and Francesca, though it does not seem to illustrate a specific story. The painting was reportedly altered: an earlier version showed the king reaching for a sword against the musician, and the softer mood may have been requested by a buyer. Its meaning is left open to interpretation.
- Painter
- Edmund Blair Leighton
- Date
- 1902
- Medium
- oil paint, canvas
- Dimensions
- 128 × 147 cm
