Artwork Title: Time, Death and Judgement

Time, Death and Judgement

George Frederic Watts

Time, Death and Judgement is one of Watts's most dramatic and influential works. As was the case with many of his most important compositions, the artist evolved the design over many years. When he began the idea in the 1860s there were just two figures – Time with his blind eyes and scythe on the left, and Death gathering flowers on the right. Both figures are youthful and beautiful, in strong contrast to their traditional personifications. Watts later added the flying figure of Judgement in flaring crimson robes. Against the head of Time is an orange setting sun (Time is running out both literally and metaphorically), while uncannily placed across and it almost seems through his head are Judgement's scales of justice. On a very grand scale, the image Watts evokes is magnificent and almost operatic rather than macabre or coldly allegorical. Time, Death and Judgement became one of Watts's best-known works. It was seen as having the power to allow anyone to make better sense of their life. A version in mosaic was placed on the front of the church of St Jude's in Commercial Street in the East End of London, and in the 1890s the Watts Gallery version of the painting was given by the artist to St Paul's Cathedral where it was prominently displayed for 80 years. In E M Forster's 1910 novel, Howards End, the self-educated clerk Leonard Bast is described as visiting the Cathedral to see again “a picture that had educated him in former years". Despite its emblematic, abstract theme, Time, Death and Judgement is a wonderful example of Watts succeeding in taking his art into the mainstream of everyday modern life. [https://www.wattsgallery.org.uk/collections/highlights-permanent-collection/#item-1300]
Uploaded on Dec 29, 2017 by Suzan Hamer

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