George Frederic Watts RA, Studies for 'Building the Ark'

Studies for 'Building the Ark', late 1850s / early 1860s?

George Frederic Watts RA (1817 - 1904)

RA Collection: Art

This sheet of preparatory figure studies relates to Watts's 'The Ark of Deliverance', also known as 'The Building of the Ark'. The chalk drawings include a standing, robed figure in the centre flanked by partially draped figures of workmen and with smaller drawings of robed figures below. Watts began work on this composition in the early 1860s when preparing plates for the Dalziel brothers' proposed Illustrated Bible. He later returned to the subject and produced a painted version between 1880-90 (Watts Gallery).

Object details

Title
Studies for 'Building the Ark'
Artist/designer
Date
late 1850s / early 1860s?
Object type
Drawing
Medium
Black and white chalk on blue laid paper
Dimensions

267 mm x 406 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
04/583
Acquisition
Bequeathed by George Frederic Watts RA 1904
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