John William Waterhouse

John William Waterhouse
Waterhouse,c. 1886
Born	Rome,Roman Republic (now Rome,Italy)
Baptised	6 April 1849
Died	10 February 1917(1917-02-10)(aged 68) London,England
Nationality	British
Works	Hylas and the Nymphs The Lady of Shalott The Magic Circle Ophelia A Mermaid
Movement	Pre-Raphaelite
Spouse	Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse

John William WaterhouseRA(baptised 6 April 1849 – 10 February 1917) was anEnglish painterknown for working first in theAcademic styleand for then embracing thePre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. His paintings are known for their depictions of women from both ancientGreek mythologyandArthurian legend.A high proportion depict a single young and beautiful woman in a historical costume and setting, though there are some ventures intoOrientalist paintingandgenre painting,still mostly featuring women.

Born inRometo English parents who were both painters, Waterhouse later moved to London, where he enrolled in theRoyal Academy of ArtSchools. He soon began exhibiting at their annual summer exhibitions, focusing on the creation of largecanvasworks depicting scenes from the daily life and mythology ofancient Greece.Many of his paintings are based on authors such asHomer,Ovid,Shakespeare,Tennyson,orKeats.

Waterhouse's work is displayed in many major art museums and galleries, and theRoyal Academy of Artorganised a major retrospective of his work in 2009.

Biography

Early life

Waterhouse was born in the city of Rome to the English painters William and Isabella Waterhouse in 1849, in the same year that the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, includingDante Gabriel Rossetti,John Everett MillaisandWilliam Holman Hunt,were first causing a stir in the London art scene.The exact date of his birth is unknown, though he wasbaptisedon 6 April, and the later scholar of Waterhouse's work,Peter Trippi,believed that he was born between 1 and 23 January.His early life in Italy has been cited as one of the reasons many of his later paintings were set inancient Romeor based upon scenes taken fromRoman mythology.

In 1854, the Waterhouses returned to England and moved to a newly built house inSouth Kensington,London, which was near to the newly foundedVictoria and Albert Museum.Waterhouse, or 'Nino' as he was nicknamed, coming from an artistic family, was encouraged to become involved in drawing, and often sketched artworks that he found in theBritish Museumand theNational Gallery.In 1871, he entered the Royal Academy of Art school, initially to study sculpture, before moving on to painting.

Early career

Sleep and his Half-brother Death,1874

Waterhouse's early works were not Pre-Raphaelite in nature, but were of classical themes in the spirit ofAlma-TademaandFrederic Leighton.These early works were exhibited at theDudley Gallery,and theSociety of British Artists,and in 1874 his paintingSleep and his Half-brother Deathwas exhibited at theRoyal Academy summer exhibition.The painting was a success and Waterhouse would exhibit at the annual exhibition every year until 1916, with the exception of 1890 and 1915. He then went from strength to strength in the London art scene, his 1876 pieceAfter the Dancebeing given the prime position in that year's summer exhibition. Perhaps due to his success, his paintings typically became larger.

Later career

In 1883, Waterhouse marriedEsther Kenworthy,the daughter of an art schoolmaster fromEalingwho had exhibited her own flower-paintings at the Royal Academy and elsewhere. In 1895 Waterhouse was elected to the status of full Academician. He taught at theSt. John's Wood Art School,joined the St John's Wood Arts Club, and served on the Royal Academy Council.

One of Waterhouse's best known subjects isThe Lady of Shalott,a study ofElaine of Astolatas depicted in the1832 poembyAlfred, Lord Tennyson,who dies of a mysterious curse after looking directly at the beautifulLancelot.He actually painted three different versions of this character, in 1888, 1894, and 1916. Another of Waterhouse's favorite subjects wasOphelia;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. LikeThe Lady of Shalottand other Waterhouse paintings, it deals with a woman dying in or near water. He may also have been inspired by paintings of Ophelia byDante Gabriel RossettiandJohn Everett Millais.

Good Neighbours(orGossip), 1885

He submitted his 1888Opheliapainting in order to receive his diploma from the Royal Academy. (He had originally wanted to submit a painting titledA Mermaid,but it was not completed in time.) After this, the painting was lost until the 20th century. It is now displayed in the collection ofLord Lloyd-Webber.Waterhouse would paint Ophelia again in 1894 and 1909 or 1910, and he planned another painting in the series, calledOphelia in the Churchyard.

Waterhouse could not finish the series of Ophelia paintings because he was gravely ill withcancerby 1915. He died two years later, and his grave can be found atKensal Green Cemeteryin London.

Gallery

In total, he produced 118 paintings. SeeList of paintings by John William Waterhousefor an almost complete list.

1870s

• 
  Undine
  1872
• 
  Gone, But Not Forgotten
  1873
• 
  The Unwelcome Companion: A Street Scene in Cairo
  1873
• 
  La Fileuse
  1874
• 
  In the Peristyle
  1874
• 
  Miranda
  1875
• 
  After the Dance
  1876
• 
  A Sick Child brought into the Temple of Aesculapius
  1877
• 
  The Remorse of the Emperor Nero after the Murder of his Mother
  1878

1880s

• 
  Dolce far Niente
  1880
• 
  Diogenes
  1882
• 
  The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius
  1883
• 
  Consulting the Oracle
  1884
• 
  Saint Eulalia
  1885
• 
  The Magic Circle
  1886
• 
  Mariamne Leaving the Judgement Seat of Herod
  1887
• 
  The Lady of Shalott
  1888
• 
  Cleopatra
  1888
• 
  Ophelia
  1889

1890s

• 
  A Roman Offering
  1890
• 
  Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses
  1891
• 
  Ulysses and the Sirens
  1891
• 
  Danaë
  1892
• 
  Circe Invidiosa
  1892
• 
  Gathering Summer Flowers in a Devonshire Garden
  1892-1893
• 
  ANaiadorHylaswith a Nymph
  1893
• 
  La Belle Dame sans Merci
  1893
• 
  A Female Study
  1894
• 
  The Lady of Shalott Looking at Lancelot
  1894
• 
  Ophelia
  1894
• 
  The Shrine
  1895
• 
  Saint Cecilia
  1895
• 
  Hylas and the Nymphs
  1896
• 
  Pandora
  1896
• 
  Juliet
  1898
• 
  Ariadne
  1898

1900s

• 
  The Siren
  1900
• 
  Destiny
  1900
• 
  The Lady Clare
  1900
• 
  Study for Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus
  1900
• 
  Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus
  1900
• 
  The Mermaid
  1901
• 
  The Crystal Ball
  1902
• 
  The Missal
  1902
• 
  Windflowers
  1902
• 
  Boreas
  1903
• 
  Echo and Narcissus
  1903
• 
  Psyche Opening the Golden Box
  1903
• 
  Psyche Opening the Door into Cupid's Garden
  1904
• 
  Lamia
  (version 1)
  1905
• 
  The Danaides,1906
• 
  Jason and Medea
  1907
• 
  Isabella and the pot of basil
  1907
• 
  The Bouquet
  (a study)
  1908
• 
  Gather Ye RosebudsorOphelia(a study)
  c. 1908
• 
  Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May…
  1908
• 
  The Soul of the RoseorMy Sweet Rose
  1908
• 
  Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May
  1909
• 
  Lamia
  (version 2)
  1909
• 
  Thisbe
  1909

1910s

• 
  Ophelia
  1910
• 
  Spring Spreads One Green Lap of Flowers
  1910
• 
  The Charmer
  1911
• 
  The Sorceress
  c. 1911-1915
• 
  Penelope and the Suitors
  1912
• 
  The Annunciation
  1914
• 
  Dante and Matilda(study) (formerly called "Dante and Beatrice")
  c. 1914–17
• 
  Matilda(study) (formerly called "Beatrice")
  c. 1915
• 
  I am Half-Sick of Shadows, said the Lady of Shalott
  1916
• 
  A Tale from the Decameron
  1916
• 
  Miranda – The Tempest
  1916
• 
  Tristan and Isolde
  1916

References

Bibliography

• Trippi, Peter(2002).J. W. Waterhouse.New York, New York:Phaidon Press.ISBN9780714842325.

Further reading

• Baldry, A. Lys(January 1895),J. W. Waterhouse and his Work,vol. 4, pp. 103–115
• Bénézit, E (2006). "Waterhouse, John William".Dictionary of Artists.Vol. 14. Paris: Gründ. pp. 668–669.
• Dorment, Richard (29 June 2009),"Waterhouse: The modern Pre-Raphaelite, at the Royal Academy – review",The Daily Telegraph
• Gunzburg, Darrelyn (2010). "John William Waterhouse, Beyond the Modern Pre-Raphaelite".The Art Book.17(2): 70–72.doi:10.1111/j.1467-8357.2010.01104.x.ISSN1368-6267.
• Hobson, Anthony (1980).The Art and Life of J.W. Waterhouse, RA, 1849-1917.Rizzoli.ISBN978-0-8478-0324-8.
• Moyle, Franny (13 June 2009),"Pre-Raphaelite art: the paintings that obsessed the Victorians [print version: Sex and death: The paintings that obsessed the Victorians]",The Daily Telegraph(Review),pp. R2–R3.
• Simpson, Eileen (17 June 2009),"Pre-Raphaelites for a new generation: Letters, 17 June: Pre-Raphaelite revival",The Daily Telegraph.
• Cartwright, Rob (2021),TURNING THE LIGHT ON J.W. WATERHOUSE, RA – A BIOGRAPHY

External links

• John William Waterhouse.net
• John William Waterhouse (The Art and Life of JW Waterhouse)Archived14 February 2020 at theWayback Machine;
• John William Waterhouse (Comprehensive Painting Gallery)
• John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
• John William Waterhouse Style and Technique
• Waterhouse at Tate Britain
• Echo and Narcissus(1903)
• Ten Dreams Galleries
• John William Waterhouse in the "History of Art"
• Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections
• 25 artworks by or after John William Waterhouseat theArt UKsite
• Portraits of John William Waterhouseat theNational Portrait Gallery, London
• Trippi, Peter. "Waterhouse, John William (1849–1917)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38885.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
• "Waterhouse, John William".Who's Who.A & C Black.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
• John William WaterhouseatLibrary of Congress,with 2 library catalogue records
• Findagrave burial record