George Frederick Watts, O.M., R.A.

The studio of the artist and thence by descent to Mrs Lilian Chapman, the artist's adopted daughter;
Fine Art Society, London, 1960s;
Private collection

Possibly Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Laing Art Gallery, Works by the Late G. F. Watts, R.A., O.M., August 1905, no. 83 as 'Eve'

The canvas appears to have a strip-lining. The surface is slightly dirty otherwise the work appears in good overall condition. Ultraviolet light reveals scattered flecks of retouching across the surface and a small spot of retouching near centre of composition. Held in a Watts-style gilt plaster frame.
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'The second picture of the great trilogy of Eve represents the Temptation. It shows Eve with her face buried amid a profusion of leaves and flowers and fruit in the bowers of Eden, her hand touching the shell-like apple blossom, her nostril inhaling the fragrance of the fruit, and her mouth taking the fatal bite... The temptation of Eve contains the germ and pattern of all temptation, and reveals the method by which it invariably carries on its baneful work... Sensuality, vanity, ambition lend their aid; doubt and distrust pass into open unbelief...' (Hugh MacMillan, The Life-Work of George Frederick Watts R.A., 1903, pg. 147)

It is unclear when Watts began to work upon the trilogy of pictures depicting The Creation of Eve, Eve Tempted and Eve Repentant but it is likely that they were worked upon at intervals between 1868 and 1878; 'These designs, Eve in the glory of her innocence, Eve yielding to temptation, and Eve restored to beauty and nobility by remorse, form part of one design and can hardly be separated any more than one would think of separating the parts of an epic poem. My intention was to make them part of an epic and they belong to a series of sin pictures, viz; the three Eves, the 'Creation of Eve', 'After the Transgression' and 'Cain'. Three single figures and three full compositions. These I always destined to be public property'. (The words of George Frederick Watts written in 1873, quoted in Mary Watts' unpublished catalogue of her husband's works). The monumental Michelangelesque figure of a female nude is the central motif of each canvas, a symbol of life and the fallibility of mankind. The great influence of the late works of Titian is evident in the warm earthly tones and the robust paint technique which suggests the glitter of morning dew upon the apple tree and the dappled light of sunrise on the nude figure. The powerful composition and almost abstract symbolism, are typical of the very best of Watts' work which is here seen on a more manageable scale than the enormous finished canvas.  

Mary Watts identified two large versions and three small versions of Eve Tempted, the two principle pictures now at Tate Britain and at the Watts Gallery in Compton. A slightly smaller version than the present picture is in the collection of Aberdeen City Art Gallery, whilst another is at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.  The present picture is the only known version in private ownership and was part of the important collection of Ronald and Lilian Chapman, the artist's adopted daughter.