In this terrible figure, half man, half bull, gazing over the sea from the battlement of a hill tower, we see the artist’s representation of the greed and lust associated with modern civilisations.  The picture was exhibited at the Winter Exhibition of the New Gallery, 1896, and formed part of the Watts Gift in 1897.  It hangs in the Watts Room at the Tate Gallery.]

Italy, and particularly Florence, was perpetual fascination and inspiration to Watts.  There he imbibed the influences of Orcagna and Titian—­influences, indeed, which were clearly represented in the next monumental painting which he attempted.  It came about that Lord Holland persuaded his guest to enter a fresh competition for the decoration of the Parliament Houses, and Watts carried off the prize with his “Alfred inciting the Saxons to resist the landing of the Danes.”  The colour and movement of the great Italian masters, conspicuously absent from the “Caractacus” cartoon, were to be seen in this new effort, where, as has been said, the English king stands like a Raphaelesque archangel in the midst of the design.

In 1848 Watts had attained, one might almost say, the position of official historical painter to the State, a post coveted by the unfortunate Haydon; and he received a commission to paint a fresco of “St. George overcomes the Dragon,” which was not completed till 1853.  In this year he contributed as an appendix to the Diary of Haydon—­in itself an exciting document, showing how wretched the life of an official painter then might be—­a note telling of the state of historical and monumental painting in the ’forties, and of his own attitude towards it; a few of his own words, written before the days of the “poster,” may be usefully quoted here: 

     On the public employment of artists

     Patriots and statesmen alike forget that the time will come
     when the want of great art in England will produce a gap sadly
     defacing the beauty of the whole national structure....

     Working, for example, as an historian to record England’s
     battles, Haydon would, no doubt, have produced a series of
     mighty and instructive pictures....

     Why should not the Government of a mighty country undertake
     the decoration of all the public buildings, such as Town
     Halls, National Schools, and even Railway Stations....

...  Or considering the walls as slates whereon the school-boy writes his figures, the great productions of other times might be reproduced, if but to be rubbed out when fine originals could be procured; for the expense would very little exceed that of whitewashing....

If, for example, on some convenient wall the whole line of British sovereigns were painted—­were monumental effigies well and correctly drawn, with date, length of reign, remarkable events written underneath, these worthy objects would