%20Consulting%20the%20Oracle.jpg)
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Consulting the Oracle, c. 1884
Oil on canvas
Height: 119.4 cm (47 in); Width: 198.1 cm (77.9 in)
Tate Britain
John William Waterhouse RA (6 April 1849 – 10 February 1917) was an English painter known for working first in the Academic style and for then embracing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. His artworks were known for their depictions of women from both ancient Greek mythology and Arthurian legend.
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Psyche Entering Cupid's Garden, c. 1903
Oil on canvas
143 × 105 cm (56.2 × 41.3 in)
Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, Lancashire, England
Cupid was sent by his jealous mother, the goddess Venus, to punish Psyche for her beauty. Cupid accidentally scratches himself with his own arrow. Instead of making Psyche fall in love with a terrifying monster, Cupid finds himself in love with Psyche, but would only meet her after dark so she couldn’t identify him. Here, Psyche is trying to catch a glimpse of her secret lover in daylight. Sometimes called ‘the last Pre-Raphaelite’. More on this painting
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Psyche Opening The Golden Box, c. 1903
Oil on canvas
Height: 117 cm (46 in); Width: 74 cm (29.1 in)
Private collection
One of the tasks Aphrodite demanded of Psyche was to journey to Hades' palace in the Underworld and get a box of beauty from Persephone. She got Charon to ferry her across the river and made it past Hades three headed dog Cerberus. Persephone was happy to do a favor for Aphrodite and gave Psyche a box. But on the way back, Psyche noticed that her difficult tasks had taken their toll on her appearance. Believing she would be reunited with Cupid soon and that she could not see him looking like this, Psyche opened the box of beauty in the hopes of using just a little for herself. More on this painting
Born in Rome to English parents who were both painters, Waterhouse later moved to London, where he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Art. He soon began exhibiting at their annual summer exhibitions, focusing on the creation of large canvas works depicting scenes from the daily life and mythology of ancient Greece.
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Saint Cecilia, c. 1895
Oil on canvas
Legion of Honor, San Francisco
Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.
According to the story, despite her vow of virginity, she was forced by her parents to marry a nobleman named Valerian. During the wedding, Cecilia sat apart singing to God in her heart, and for that she was later declared the saint of musicians. When the time came for her marriage to be consummated, Cecilia told Valerian that she had an angel of the Lord watching over her who would punish him if he dared to violate her virginity but who would love him if he could respect her maidenhood. When Valerian asked to see the angel, Cecilia replied that he would see the angel if he would go to the third milestone on the Via Appia (the Appian Way) and be baptized by Pope Urbanus. After his baptism, he found an angel standing by the side of Cecilia, and crowning her with a chaplet of roses and lilies.
The martyrdom of Cecilia is said to have followed that of Valerian and his brother by the prefect Turcius Almachius. The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church. More on Saint Cecilia
Miracles, magic and the power of prophecy are common themes in Waterhouse's art. More specifically, the notion of woman as enchantress is one that recurs in images such as The Magic Circle (See below), Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysees (See below) and Hylas and the Nymphs (See below).
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
The Magic Circle, c. 1886
Oil on canvas
Height: 182.9 cm (72 in); Width: 127 cm (50 in)
Tate Britain
The woman in this picture appears to be a witch or priestess, endowed with magic powers, possibly the power of prophecy. Her dress and general appearance is highly eclectic, and is derived from several sources: she has the swarthy complexion of a woman of middle-eastern origin. In her left hand she holds a crescent-shaped sickle, linking her with the moon and Hecate. With the wand in her right hand she draws a protective magic circle round her. Within its confines are flowers and the woman herself, objects of beauty. More on this painting
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses, c. 1891
Oil on canvas
Height: 148 cm (58.2 in); Width: 92 cm (36.2 in)
Gallery Oldham
The painting depicts a scene from the Odyssey. Circe, a sorceress, offers a cup to Odysseus. In the cup is a potion. Circe seeks to bring Ulysses under her spell, as she has done with his crew. One of Ulysses' crewmen has been transformed into a pig and can be seen beside Circe's feet. Ulysses' reflection can be seen in the mirror which is behind Circe's throne. More on this painting
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Hylas and the Nymphs, c. 1896
Oil on canvas
Height: 132.1 cm (52 in); Width: 197.5 cm (77.7 in)
Manchester Art Gallery
Hylas and the Nymphs is a story within the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts in which they set sail for the iconic Golden Fleece.
The painting depicts Hylas, who was a warrior, an Argonaut, as well as that of an incredibly handsome man. His role in the story was to fetch water once they had reached the shore. When he found a pool of water in which to fetch water, he placed his pitcher in and it was then that he noticed he was surrounded by many nymphs.
He was stunned and therefore stopped fetching the water in order to kiss one of them. The remainder of the story is unknown, as Hylas simply disappeared. More on this painting
In 1854, the Waterhouses returned to England and moved to a newly built house in South Kensington, London, which was near to the newly founded Victoria and Albert Museum. Waterhouse, coming from an artistic family, was encouraged to become involved in drawing, and often sketched artworks that he found in the British Museum and the National Gallery. In 1871 he entered the Royal Academy of Art school, initially to study sculpture, before moving on to painting.
Waterhouse's early works were of classical themes in the spirit of Alma-Tadema and Frederic Leighton. These early works were exhibited at the Dudley Gallery, and the Society of British Artists, and in 1874 his painting Sleep and his Half-brother Death (See above) was exhibited at the Royal Academy summer exhibition. The painting was a success and Waterhouse would continue to exhibit at the annual exhibition every year. He went from strength to strength in the London art scene, his 1876 piece After the Dance being (See below) given the prime position in that year's summer exhibition. Perhaps due to his success, his paintings typically became larger and larger in size.
“‘I am Half-Sick of Shadows,’ Said the Lady of Shalott” by Sidney Meteyard. This is also the line from Tennyson’s poem, like Waterhouse’s piece. The circular mirror can be seen casting a dim reflection of the young lovers in the background. The darker colors of this piece, as well as her pose, suggest a darker, more sensual tone. More on this painting
Ophelia is a 1894 oil on canvas painting by the English painter John William Waterhouse, depicting a character in William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, a potential wife for Prince Hamlet. In the 1894 version by Waterhouse, Ophelia is depicted, in the last moments before her death, sitting on a willow branch extending out over a pond of lilies. Her royal dress strongly contrasts with her natural surroundings. Waterhouse has placed flowers on her lap and in her hair, tying her into her natural surroundings. More on Ophelia
Waterhouse could not finish the series of Ophelia paintings because he was gravely ill with cancer by 1915. He died two years later, and his grave can be found at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. More on John William Waterhouse
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Sleep and his Half-brother Death, c. 1874
Oil on canvas
Height: 69.8 cm (27.5 in); Width: 90.8 cm (35.7 in)
Private collection
'The two figures recline side by side on a low couch, beyond which are the columns of a colonnade open to the night and touched with moonlight. The interior is lit by a lamp, whose light streams on the foremost figure, Sleep, whose head hangs in heavy stupor on his breast, and his right hand grasps some poppies. By his side lies Death in dusky shadow, with head thrown back, and the lines of the figure expressive of easeful lassitude. At his feet is an antique lyre, while immediately in the foreground is a low round table… The two figures are both young, and the beauty of youth belongs to one as much as to the other… the strange likeness and unlikeness of the recumbent figures.' J.A. Blaikie
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
After the Dance, c. 1876
Oil on canvas
Height: 76.2 cm (30 in); Width: 127 cm (50 in)
Private collection
'The picture shows a Roman interior, with a portion of the atrium and a peep into the court beyond. Two figures recline on cushions, one sitting and the other languidly stretched on the tessellated pavement with a tambourine alongside. In the distance a group of minstrels on the extreme left complete the composition... There is no pretence of archaeological display, nor any highly-wrought detail, or accessories introduced for the mere mastery of textures...'
'...two Greek, gracefully draped, resting themselves in the atrium of the house wherein they have been dancing. The coloring is quiet, and yet not without a certain richness, the prevailing tints being yellow, green, brown and grey. One girl lies on her back, the other sits at her side...' More on this painting
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
The Lady of Shalott, c. 1888
Oil on canvas
Height: 153 cm (60.2 in); Width: 200 cm (78.7 in)
Tate Britain
Tennyson’s poem, first published in 1832, tells of a woman (Elaine of Astolat), who suffers under an undisclosed curse. She lives isolated in a tower on an island called Shalott, on a river which flows down from King Arthur’s castle at Camelot. Not daring to look upon reality, she is allowed to see the outside world only through its reflection in a mirror. One day she glimpses the reflected image of the handsome knight Lancelot, and cannot resist looking at him directly. The mirror cracks from side to side, and she feels the curse come upon her. The punishment that follows results in her drifting in her boat downstream to Camelot ‘singing her last song’, but dying before she reaches there.
Waterhouse shows her letting go the boat’s chain, while staring at a crucifix placed in front of three guttering candles. Tennyson was a popular subject for artists of this period, particularly the Pre-Raphaelites. Waterhouse’s biographer Anthony Hobson relates that the artist owned a copy of Tennyson’s collected works, and covered every blank page with pencil sketches for paintings.
The landscape setting is highly naturalistic; the painting was made during Waterhouse’s brief period of plein-air painting. The setting is not identified, although the Waterhouses frequently visited Somerset and Devon. The model is traditionally said to be the artist’s wife. Waterhouse’s sketchbook contains numerous pencil studies for this and the painting of the same title made six years later (1894, Leeds City Art Gallery). This second work shows the Lady at the moment she looks out of the window and the curse is fulfilled. Waterhouse also made sketches of the final scenes in which the boat bearing the Lady floats into Camelot. More on this painting
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
The Lady of Shalott looking at Lancelot, c. 1894
Oil on canvas
Height: 142.2 cm (55.9 in); Width: 86.3 cm (33.9 in)
Leeds Art Gallery
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
"I am half sick of shadows" said the Lady of Shalott, c. 1915
Oil on canvas
Height: 100.3 cm (39.4 in); Width: 73.7 cm (29 in)
Art Gallery of Ontario
One of Waterhouse's best known subjects is The Lady of Shalott (See above), a study of Elaine of Astolat as depicted in the 1832 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who dies of a mysterious curse after looking directly at the beautiful Lancelot. He actually painted three different versions of this character, in 1888, 1894, and 1916.
Another of Waterhouse's favorite subjects was Ophelia; the most familiar of his paintings of Ophelia depicts her just before her death, putting flowers in her hair as she sits on a tree branch leaning over a lake (See below). Like The Lady of Shalott and other Waterhouse paintings, it deals with a woman dying in or near water. He submitted his 1888 Ophelia painting in order to receive his diploma from the Royal Academy. After this, the painting was lost until the 20th century. It is now displayed in the collection of Lord Lloyd-Webber. Waterhouse would paint Ophelia again in 1894 (See below), and 1909 or 1910 (See below), and he planned another painting in the series, called Ophelia in the Churchyard.
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Ophelia, c. 1889
Oil on canvas
Private collection
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Ophelia, c. 1894
Oil on canvas
Height: 49 in (124.4 cm); Width: 29 in (73.6 cm)
Ophelia is a 1894 oil on canvas painting by the English painter John William Waterhouse, depicting a character in William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, a potential wife for Prince Hamlet. In the 1894 version by Waterhouse, Ophelia is depicted, in the last moments before her death, sitting on a willow branch extending out over a pond of lilies. Her royal dress strongly contrasts with her natural surroundings. Waterhouse has placed flowers on her lap and in her hair, tying her into her natural surroundings. More on Ophelia
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Ophelia, c. 1910
Oil on canvas
Height: 119 cm (46.8 in); Width: 71 cm (27.9 in)
Private collection
Waterhouse’s final depiction of Ophelia in 1910 is by far the most dramatic. As in the others, she is adorned with flowers and long reddish brown hair, but this Ophelia differs drastically from the other two representations. Waterhouse portrays a much more mature and womanly Ophelia in this painting. A voluptuous young woman in blue and crimson gown replaces the virginal white dress and girlish figure that was previously employed by Waterhouse. She stands in the forefront occupying most of the pictorial space, gazing right at the viewer. Her penetrating stare and reddened cheeks effectively express her state of despair. Her hand rests on the tree as to balance herself before she steps into the water. The two subjects in the background look on, unaware as Ophelia presses on towards her fate. More on this painting
The three portrayals of Ophelia by Waterhouse form a progression of the moments leading up to her death. In the first, she is young lying in a field, with the stream far behind her. The second portrays a slightly older Ophelia sitting closer to the water, but still appearing distant from her future fate and the viewer. The final painting of Ophelia depicts the subject as a mature woman confronting not only the viewer but also the choice in front of her.
Waterhouse could not finish the series of Ophelia paintings because he was gravely ill with cancer by 1915. He died two years later, and his grave can be found at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. More on John William Waterhouse
Please visit my other blogs: Art
Collector, Mythology, Marine
Art, Portrait of a Lady, The
Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The
Canals of Venice, Middle
East Artists, 365
Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest
Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others.
Some Images may be subject to copyright
I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless
it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell
me.
I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are
shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.
If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.
Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.
Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.
No comments:
Post a Comment