Vogue wants you to know that it’s cover shoot (and inside fashion spread with Jessica Chastain) is inspired by some works of art. And even though the magazine’s website doesn’t explain what these paintings have in common, or even why photograph Annie Leibovitz based her images on them, the accompanying text does try to tell us what the works sold for.
The inspiration behind our December cover image was Frederic Leighton’s ethereal Flaming June of 1895. This classical, figurative painting has not always been in vogue, though. The last time Flaming June was up for auction was the early 1960s, it failed to sell at its lowest reserve price of $140 ($840 today). In 1963, however, Luis A. Ferré purchased the painting during a visit to France and placed it in the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico, where it can be seen today.
Art: Where to Find the Eight Masterworks That Inspired Jessica Chastain’s Vogue Cover Shoot (Vogue)