 The 1832 exhibition of Youth on the Prow , and Pleasure at the Helm , a painting containing apparently gratuitous nude figures , met a hostile reception from critics . From then on , while Etty continued to paint nude figures for the rest of his career , he made a conscious effort to try to illustrate moral lessons with his work . This effort was not wholly successful , and he continued to be regarded as a pornographer by some throughout his career . He died in late 1849 , and following his death nude paintings went rapidly out of fashion in Britain . 
