Arcadia

Adopted by Carol Kemm

In Greek mythology, Arcadia was a pastoral paradise ruled by Pan, the god of flocks and shepherds. ‘Painted out of pure delight in lovely form and colour’ this painting demonstrates how Watts played a key part in the revival of the female nude in British art during the 1870s. An atmospheric painting, Watts’s use of bold blues, greens and dazzling white suggests the lush and idyllic setting.

Exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1881, a venue associated with the promotion of a cult of the beauty, Arcadia was displayed alongside works by leaders of the Aesthetic Movement, Edward Burne-Jones and Albert Moore.