George Frederic Watts RA, Standing male nude, probably a study for 'A Recording Angel' or 'Destiny'.
Black, white and red chalk on brown wove paper. 552 mm x 319 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
This image is not available to download. To licence this image for commercial purposes, contact our Picture Library at picturelibrary@royalacademy.org.uk
Standing male nude, probably a study for 'A Recording Angel' or 'Destiny'
George Frederic Watts RA (1817 - 1904)
RA Collection: Art
A chalk drawing of a standing male nude holding a book, or a similar object, balanced on the left thigh. The head of the figure is in outline only but the rest is shaded in smudged black chalk with highlights in white and tone added by small areas of reddish-brown chalk.
The figure is probably a nude study for one of Watts's early versions of 'A Recording Angel' (Watts Gallery) or 'Destiny' (1904, Watts Gallery), both of which portray an androgynous figure standing in this position and writing on a tablet balanced on the left thigh. Watts often reused figures or repeated poses in paintings dealing with similar subject and in this case both paintings explore the theme of personal, moral responsibility.
Object details
552 mm x 319 mm
Start exploring the RA Collection
- Explore art works, paint-smeared palettes, scribbled letters and more...
- Artists and architects have run the RA for 250 years.
Our Collection is a record of them.
Related articles
-
![Richard Cosway RA, Richard and Maria Cosway, and Ottobah Cugoano (detail)]()
Our Collection
6 months ago
Untold Stories
Recent research reveals how the Royal Academy’s founding artists worked amidst Britain’s imperial expansion in the 18th century, the transatlantic slave trade, and a growing abolitionist movement.
-
![Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA,, Self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA]()
Our Collection
1 year ago
Creative inspiration today from the first President of the Royal Academy
The RA’s founding President Joshua Reynolds may have shaken up the art world when he delivered his ‘Discourses’ lectures, but are they still relevant now? We take a closer look at what artists and art-lovers can learn from the series today.
-
![Emma Stibbon RA, Collapsed Whaling Station, Deception Island, Antarctica]()
Our Collection
1 year ago
Video: Apocalyptic printmaking and extreme environments with Emma Stibbon RA
Watch Emma Stibbon describes the unforgiving conditions and dramatic landscapes that inspired her display in the Collection Gallery.
-
![RA Library]()
Our Collection
2 years ago
RA Collections Decolonial Research Project
Over the past year, our team has been investigating the links between the RA and its colonial past. In our first post on this subject, we offer an update on this work, and capture how we’re documenting associations between 18th- and 19th-century Royal Academicians and colonial activities
