George Frederic Watts

George Frederic Watts painted big ideas: Hope, Love and Life, Time and Death, as large, dreamlike figures in misty colour. His surfaces are often soft and textured, as if seen through haze, and his figures owe much to Greek sculpture and to Michelangelo.

He was born in London and trained first as a sculptor before entering the Royal Academy Schools. Besides his allegories he painted a long series of portraits of eminent Victorians, which he gave to the National Portrait Gallery. He also made sculpture, including the huge bronze horseman Physical Energy. In his last years he and his wife Mary opened the Watts Gallery at Compton in Surrey, which still shows his work. Tate Britain holds his painting Hope.

Ariadne on the Island of Naxos shows his classical side, with warm light and calm, sculptural figures. Look for the rich layering of colour.