Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
The Watts Gift
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/george-frederic-watts-586" aria-label="More by George Frederic Watts" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">George Frederic Watts</a>
he had great possessions
Presented by the artist 1897
adults
avarice
Bible: New Testament
despair
emotions and human qualities
emotions, concepts and ideas
man
parable
people
religion and belief
<p>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.</p><p><em>Gallery label, August 2004</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
23 February 2024 – 30 June 2024
2024-06-30
23 February 2024 – 30 June 2024
2024-06-30
2024-02-23
Musei di San Domenico (Forlì, Italy)
2024-02-23
Pre-Raphaelites: A Modern Renaissance
Loan-out
‘For he had great possessions’
support: 1397 × 584 mm
Presented by <a href="/search?gid=999999783" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">the artist</a> 1897
<p>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 <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a> 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.</p>
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2004-08-18T00:00:00
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adults avarice Bible: New Testament despair emotions and human qualities emotions, concepts and ideas man parable people religion and belief