Artwork of the Month - February 2017
1 February 2017
This month's artwork marks 200 years since the birth of George Frederic Watts RA (1817-1904), the Victorian painter and sculptor known as 'England's Michelangelo'. Born in London on 23 February 1817, Watts first came to prominence in 1842 when he won one of three first prizes in a competition held to help identify artists to work on Sir Charles Barry's new Houses of Parliament.
Alfred Inciting the Saxons
Watts' £300 prize money enabled him to fund a long visit to Italy, which proved hugely influential on his career. While there he entered another Westminster Hall competition organised by the Fine Arts Commission in 1847.
The oil painting that Watts submitted is this month's Artwork of the Month. Titled 'Alfred Inciting the Saxons to Prevent the Landing of the Danes', it shows King Alfred the Great leading the Anglo-Saxons into battle against a Danish invasion force in AD 876.
The work won a £500 first prize and was bought by the Fine Arts Commissioners to hang in a Committee Room in the Houses of Parliament, where it remains today. See a high resolution image of the painting
Further information
- Find out about Watts Gallery events marking the bicentenary of its founder's birth (external link)
- Discover more about the Fine Arts Commission (external link)
Image: Detail of 'Alfred Inciting the Saxons to Prevent the Landing of the Danes', oil on canvas, 1846 (WOA 2958)