Masters in Art: A Series of Illustrated Monographs; Watts, Palma Vecchio, Vigee Le Brun, Mantegna, Chardin, Benozzo Gozzoli, Jan Steen, Memlinc, ... Raeburn, Fra Filippo Lippi (Classic Reprint)

Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Painting

Masters in Art: A Series of Illustrated Monographs; Watts, Palma Vecchio, Vigee Le Brun, Mantegna, Chardin, Benozzo Gozzoli, Jan Steen, Memlinc, ... Raeburn, Fra Filippo Lippi (Classic Reprint) Details

Excerpt from Masters in Art: A Series of Illustrated Monographs; Watts, Palma Vecchio, Vigee Le Brun, Mantegna, Chardin, Benozzo Gozzoli, Jan Steen, Memlinc, Claude Lorrain, Verrocchio, Raeburn, Fra Filippo LippiFour years passed before Watts returned to England - years which were by no means idle, for although he did not spend his time in copying the works of the old masters in the galleries of Italy, he studied them in his own way, absorbing their beauty, and finding inspiration in Florentine form and line, and in the coloring of the Venetians. Portraits of Lord and Lady Holland, and of many of their distinguished guests, were painted by him at this period, and on the walls of their summer villa, Villa Careggi, he painted a fresco rep resenting the execution of the physician who was accused of poisoning his master, Lorenzo de' Medici, to whom the villa had once belonged.When, in 1847, news was received from London that a second competition for decorations of the Houses of Parliament was to be held, Watts returned to England to again become a candidate. To his astonishment he was again successful, and a first-class prize of £500 was awarded him for a large and vigorous composition of King Alfred inciting his Subjects to prevent the Landing of the Danes.' This cartoon was bought by the English govern ment, and hung in a committee-room at Westminster, and Watts was soon afterwards commissioned to paint a fresco of St. George and the Dragon for the upper waiting-hall of the House of Lords. This last work, begun in 1848, was not finished until five years later. It may still be seen, though injured by London fog and smoke, in the Palace of Westminster.In 1856 Watts again left England; this time to accompany the expedition sent out under Sir Charles Newton to examine and verify many ancient sites of tombs and temples in Greece and Asia Minor. The expedition occupied a year and a half, and even after the return of the party to England, Watts, who was not connected with it in any official capacity, pursued his travels in different parts of Greece and Italy, strengthening his love for classic art and his devotion to Greek sculpture.Not long after his return to England, in pursuance of a desire that public buildings in London should be adorned with monumental works of art em bodying lofty thoughts, he offered to decorate for the barristers of Lincoln's Inn, without remuneration, the north side of their great dining-hall, with a fresco representing 'the School of Legislature.' This work, the largest and finest of its kind in England, was completed in 1859, and, as a mark of their appreciation of his labors, the barristers presented Watts with £500 and a gold cup. The artist's generosity and public spirit, however, met elsewhere with less cordial reception, and his offer to decorate at his own expense the large hall at Euston Station with a series of frescos illustrating the progress of the world was rejected by the directors of the railway.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.