George Frederic Watts RA, Four studies of a male nude for 'The Denunciation of Cain'

George Frederic Watts RA, Four studies of a male nude for 'The Denunciation of Cain', by 1871.

Black and white chalk on brown wove paper. 532 mm x 344 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.

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Four studies of a male nude for 'The Denunciation of Cain', by 1871

George Frederic Watts RA (1817 - 1904)

RA Collection: Art

On this sheet are four studies of a male nude for 'The Denunciation of Cain' (1871, Royal Academy of Arts, 03/1313 and versions at the Watts Gallery and Norwich Castle Museum). The subject illustrates the story from the Bible (Genesis 4) which describes how Cain, having killed his brother Abel, is 'cursed from the earth' to become 'a fugitive and a vagabond' who cannot be killed by any human but must live in the wilderness until released by God. Cain responds 'my punishment is greater than I can bear' and the painting was also known by this title.

These studies are for one of the 'denouncing spirits' (Watts's description) that swoop down on Cain as he stands over the body of Abel. All four drawings relate to the figure at the top left of the painting. Watts wrote that these figures 'represent the voices of conscience reproaching him with the many sins that culminated in the murder. The brand is set upon him; he is shut out from contact with all creation'.

There is another study for this painting in the RA collection (RA 04/63).

Further reading:

Mary Seton Watts, George Frederic Watts, The Annals of an Artist's Life, London, 1912, Vol. I, p. 258

Veronica Franklin Gould ed., The Vision of G F Watts, The Watts Gallery, 2004, cat. no. 57, p. 68

Watts often expressed the emotive force of his figures through their pose or drapery rather than by facial expression. This is apparent in the large number of figures depicted from the side or the back in both his paintings and his drawings. This group of drawings in the Royal Academy collection gives some indication of the large number of Watts's figure studies and preparatory drawings which concentrate on the back.

Watts's choice of poses seems to be part of the same impulse as his habit of obscuring the facial features of figures in his allegorical paintings. Both are part of an effort to universalise his subjects rather than focusing on their individual traits. His sometimes unconventional poses also reveal his dislike for relying on generic compositional rules, or what he called 'picture making'.

Further reading:

Veronica Franklin Gould ed., The Vision of G F Watts, exhib. cat., The Watts Gallery, 2004, pp. 72-74

All objects in this group

Object details

Title
Four studies of a male nude for 'The Denunciation of Cain'
Artist/designer
George Frederic Watts RA (1817 - 1904)
Date
by 1871
Object type
Drawing
Medium
Black and white chalk on brown wove paper
Dimensions

532 mm x 344 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
04/130
Acquisition
Bequeathed by George Frederic Watts RA 1904

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