Watts lived in an age when the spirit of reform was uppermost, and men were preaching, thinking, and living it. No wonder, then, his work is full of thoughtful purpose, urging us on to the best that is in us.
He said, “I want to teach people to live ... to teach something higher than money making or mere pleasure getting ... to suggest great thoughts.” He did not paint, as many others had, for the mere pleasure of it, or even from inspiration, but rather for some definite purpose. In the Tate Gallery at London is a great collection of the paintings which give the artist’s message to the world. In 1843 the Royal Commission appointed for the decoration of the new Houses of Parliament awarded one of the prizes to Watts for his fresco design. This enabled him to study in Italy for three years. There he gained much in the richness of his coloring and ease in brush-work.
Of his paintings for the government “The First Naval Victory of the English” and “St. George Overcomes the Dragon” are perhaps the best known. Other famous pictures by Watts are entitled “Ganymede,” “Orpheus and Eurydice,” and “Psyche.” In 1867 Watts became a member of the Royal Academy. He worked very hard, producing a great many paintings. With noble generosity he donated a large number of pictures to his country, particularly portraits of famous men, among them Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Swinburne, Dante, Gabriel Rossetti, Burne-Jones, and William Morris.
The last few years of his life were devoted principally to portrait painting. When Tennyson was writing “Elaine,” he asked Watts to tell him his idea of a good portrait, and afterwards wrote this description from the answer:
“As when a painter, gazing on a face,
Divinely thro’ all hindrance finds the man
Behind it, and so paints him that his face,
The shape and color of a mind and life,
Lives for his children ever at his best.”
Questions about the artist. Who was the artist, and where was he born? What help did he have in realizing his ambition to become an artist? What was his aim in painting pictures? Give in your own words Mr. Watts’s idea of what a good portrait should be. What helped him to go to Italy? What benefit did he get from his study in Italy? Name some great men whose portraits Watts painted.