Acme and Septimius (Leighton)

In 1868, Leighton was elected Royal Academician, and the Academy had six contributions from his palette which fixed his reputation.^[2] His style bore the strong influence of his recent visits to Greece, and projected new visions of themes which had attracted him in childhood.^[2] Acme and Septimius was perhaps the most popular picture of the year in England.^[3]

Acme and Septimius is a circular picture, with two small full-length figures reclining on a marble bench.^[3] This extract from Sir Theodore Martin's translation of Catullus 45 was appended to its title in the Royal Academy catalogue:

Then bending gently back her head,
With that sweet mouth so rosy red,
Upon his eyes she dropped a kiss,
Intoxicating him with bliss.^[3]

• Jones, Stephen, et al. (1996). Frederic Leighton, 1830–1896. Royal Academy of Arts, London: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. pp. 63, 78, 119, 159–60, 166, 233.
• Rhys, Ernest (1900). Frederic Lord Leighton: An Illustrated Record of his Life and Work. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 25–26, 124.
• Staley, Edgcumbe (1906). Lord Leighton of Stretton. London: The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd.; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 75–76.