George Frederic WattsBritish, 1817–1904Augusta, Lady Castletown
May one see it?
Unknown
London, United Kingdom
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- NG6083
In the catalog
Sources
- Wikidata
- Image: The National Gallery — George Frederic Watts · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Meanwhile, in the life of George Frederic Watts
The whole life1843–1847
Friendship with Lord and Lady Holland
During his Italian stay Watts becomes close to the British ambassador Henry Fox, 4th Baron Holland, and his wife Augusta, visiting their homes, Casa Feroni and the Villa Careggi in Tuscany. For them he paints a portrait of Lady Holland, shown in 1848, and — after experimental studies in the medium — a fresco at the villa.
1843–1847
A long stay in Italy funded by the prize
The prize money pays for a long stay in Italy, which lasts until April 1847. There he begins to paint landscapes and is inspired by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel.
1847
Second Parliament competition: “Alfred the Great”
While still in Italy, Watts enters a new Parliament competition with the picture “Alfred Inciting the Saxons to Prevent the Landing of the Danes by Encountering Them at Sea” — a patriotic subject treated with an eye to Phidias. The picture wins a first-class prize of £500; the government buys it and hangs it in one of the committee rooms of the House of Commons.
April 1847
Leaves Florence and stays in London
In April 1847 Watts leaves Florence for what was meant to be a brief return to London, but he ends up staying there.
