Not on display
- Artist
- George Frederic Watts 1817–1904
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 1397 × 584 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Presented by the artist 1897
- Reference
- N01632
Display caption
The title of this picture is taken from the Biblical story of the rich man who approached Christ asking to become a disciple. When told that he must first sell all his worldly possessions he had second thoughts, choosing to reject the spiritual life and retain his great accumulation of material goods. First exhibited in 1894, the work was one of a group in which Watts expressed his antagonism towards greed. While the composition indicates the man's psychological dilemma, it also focuses the viewer's attention on the rich fabric of his clothes. The handling of the paint consciously strives to imitate that of the great Venetian painters, most notably Titian.
Gallery label, August 2004
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