Leighton would use this large open space to welcome his friends as well as receive the invited public on Sundays during his “At Home” afternoons. Guests could sometimes be invited to the first floor, which included the large studio and private quarters, for a visit of the studio or, for example, a private musical soiree.
In 1864, Leighton wrote to his father that he had made “a few sketches in St. Mark’s, which I think promise well”. The sketches, as suggested by the “promise well” of the letter, would become studies for a finished work, ‘Widow’s Prayer’, which was painted in 1864-65. (Studies for the painting are now at the Ashmolean Museum and the Royal Academy, reference numbers WA1935.140, WA1935.141, 04/1124.) The small child is sitting on the steps that lead to the left hand side of the Byzantine alter piece, which is the famous Pala D’Oro, and the woman rests on a set of steps that lead to below the building.
Leighton has taken the two staircases, moved the handrail to the left and added one set of the distinctive geometric diamond patterns supporting the columns, thus adapting slightly the architecture of the basilica to fit his composition. It is interesting to see how, ten years after having reassured his father that he was doing ‘stand alone’ sketches, he is now focused on drawing with a finished work already in mind. Through this emotional painting, one can feel that the basilica seems to have captured the imagination of Leighton greatly.
Such was Leighton’s depth of feeling towards Venice in that 1879 he collaborated with William Morris and The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. The society was created by Morris and Philip Webb to campaign against the unsympathetic restoration of traditional architecture in Britain. Their argument was that buildings should be preserved thus maintaining their history, rather than trying to recreate an idealistic vision of what the buildings would have looked like in the past. Although the society concentrated on historic buildings in Britain it applied its vision to Venice when the façade of the Basilica di San Marco was to be pulled down and reconstructed. When Leighton heard about this he joined forces with Morris in a successful campaign to prevent this from happening.Leighton was a great traveller and visited or lived in many cities in France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, North Africa and the Middle East to name a few. But Venice seemed to have particularly captured his imagination.