John William Waterhouse

English painter (1849–1917)

John William Waterhouse

Waterhouse, c. 1886

Born|

Rome, Roman Republic
(now Rome, Italy)

Baptised| 6 April 1849[1]
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 Waterhouse RA (baptised 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 paintings are known for their depictions of women from both ancient Greek mythology and Arthurian legend. A high proportion depict a single young and beautiful woman in a historical costume and setting, though there are some ventures into Orientalist painting and genre painting, still mostly featuring women.

Born in Rome to English parents who were both painters, Waterhouse later moved to London, where he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Art Schools. 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. Many of his paintings are based on authors such as Homer, Ovid,[2] Shakespeare, Tennyson, or Keats.

Waterhouse's work is displayed in many major art museums and galleries, and the Royal Academy of Art organised a major retrospective of his work in 2009.

## Biography

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### Early life

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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, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt, were first causing a stir in the London art scene.[3] The exact date of his birth is unknown, though he was baptised on 6 April, and the later scholar of Waterhouse's work, Peter Trippi, believed that he was born between 1 and 23 January.[1] His early life in Italy has been cited as one of the reasons many of his later paintings were set in ancient Rome or based upon scenes taken from Roman mythology.

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, 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 the British Museum and the National Gallery.[4] In 1871, he entered the Royal Academy of Art school, initially to study sculpture, before moving on to painting.

### Early career

[edit]

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 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 was exhibited at the Royal Academy summer exhibition.[5] 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 piece After the Dance being given the prime position in that year's summer exhibition. Perhaps due to his success, his paintings typically became larger.[5]

### Later career

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In 1883, Waterhouse married Esther Kenworthy, the daughter of an art schoolmaster from Ealing who 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 the St. 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 is The Lady of Shalott, 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. Like The Lady of Shalott and other Waterhouse paintings, it deals with a woman dying in or near water. He may also have been inspired by paintings of Ophelia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais.

Good Neighbours (or Gossip), 1885

He submitted his 1888 Ophelia painting in order to receive his diploma from the Royal Academy. (He had originally wanted to submit a painting titled A 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 of Lord Lloyd-Webber. Waterhouse would paint Ophelia again in 1894 and 1909 or 1910, and he planned another painting in the series, called Ophelia in the Churchyard.

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.[6]

## Gallery

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In total, he produced 118 paintings. See List of paintings by John William Waterhouse for an almost complete list.

### 1870s

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* 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

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

* 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

* A Naiad or Hylas with 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

[edit]

* 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

* A 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 Rosebuds or Ophelia (a study)
c. 1908

* Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May…
1908

* The Soul of the Rose or My Sweet Rose
1908

* Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May
1909

* Lamia
(version 2)
1909

* Thisbe
1909

### 1910s

[edit]

* 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

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### Notes

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1. ^ a b Trippi 2002, p. 9.
2. ^ Severino, Carlos Mesquita (2019). Representações das Metamorphoses de Ovídio em J. W. Waterhouse (masterThesis). Lisboa: Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa.
3. ^ Trippi 2002, p. 4.
4. ^ Trippi 2002, p. 14.
5. ^ a b Trippi, Peter; Prettejohn, Elizabeth; Upstone, Robert. J.M. Waterhouse: The Modern Pre-Raphaelite Gallery Guide. The Royal Academy of Art. 2009.
6. ^ J.W. Waterhouse and the Magic of Color

### Bibliography

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* Trippi, Peter (2002). J. W. Waterhouse. New York, New York: Phaidon Press. ISBN 9780714842325.

## Further reading

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* 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. ISSN 1368-6267.
* Hobson, Anthony (1980). The Art and Life of J.W. Waterhouse, RA, 1849-1917. Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0-8478-0324-8.
* 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

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
John William Waterhouse (category)

* John William Waterhouse.net
* John William Waterhouse (The Art and Life of JW Waterhouse) Archived 14 February 2020 at the Wayback 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 Waterhouse at the Art UK site
* Portraits of John William Waterhouse at the National 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 or UK public library membership required.)
* "Waterhouse, John William". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
* John William Waterhouse at Library of Congress, with 2 library catalogue records
* Findagrave burial record

* v
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John William Waterhouse

List of paintings

Paintings|

* The Unwelcome Companion: A Street Scene in Cairo (1873)
* Sleep and His Half-Brother Death (1874)
* The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius (1883)
* Consulting the Oracle (1884)
* Saint Eulalia (1885)
* The Magic Circle (1886)
* The Lady of Shalott (1888)
* Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses (1891)
* Ulysses and the Sirens (1891)
* Circe Invidiosa (1892)
* The Lady of Shalott Looking at Lancelot (1894)
* Ophelia (1894)
* Hylas and the Nymphs (1896)
* Pandora (1896)
* Mariana in the South (1897)
* A Mermaid (1900)
* The Siren (c. 1900)
* The Crystal Ball (1902)
* Boreas (1903)
* Echo and Narcissus (1903)
* Jason and Medea (1907)
* Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May (1908)
* Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May (1909)
* The Sorceress (1915)
* I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Said the Lady of Shalott (1915)

Related|

* Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse (wife)
* Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Commons: John William Waterhouse

* v
* t
* e

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (paintings)

* William Holman Hunt
* John Everett Millais
* Dante Gabriel Rossetti
* James Collinson
* William Michael Rossetti
* Frederic George Stephens
* Thomas Woolner

Associated
artists and
figures

* Lawrence Alma-Tadema
* George Price Boyce
* John Brett
* Ford Madox Brown
* Lucy Madox Brown
* Richard Burchett
* Edward Burne-Jones
* Georgiana Burne-Jones
* James Campbell
* John Collier
* Charles Allston Collins
* Frank Cadogan Cowper
* Evelyn De Morgan
* Walter Deverell
* Henry Treffry Dunn
* William Dyce
* Henry Holiday
* Arthur Hughes
* Edward Robert Hughes
* Frederic Leighton
* Robert Braithwaite Martineau
* Louisa Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford
* William Morris
* Alexander Munro
* Joseph Noel Paton
* Valentine Cameron Prinsep
* Christina Rossetti
* John Ruskin
* Emma Sandys
* Frederick Sandys
* Thomas Seddon
* Elizabeth Siddal
* James Smetham
* Rebecca Solomon
* Simeon Solomon
* John Roddam Spencer Stanhope
* Marie Spartali Stillman
* John Melhuish Strudwick
* Algernon Charles Swinburne
* Henry Wallis
* John William Waterhouse
* William James Webbe
* William Lindsay Windus

Some
well-known
works
(period and
post-period)

* Ophelia
* Christ in the House of His Parents
* A Converted British Family Sheltering a Christian Missionary from the Persecution of the Druids
* Ecce Ancilla Domini
* Mariana
* The Light of the World
* Our English Coasts ('Strayed Sheep')
* The Scapegoat
* Paolo and Francesca da Rimini
* The Last of England
* Work
* The Awakening Conscience
* The Hireling Shepherd
* April Love
* Found
* Autumn Leaves
* Bocca Baciata
* Oxford Union murals
* Lady Lilith
* Roman Widow
* Mary Magdalene
* The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple
* Morgan le Fay
* Beata Beatrix
* The Shadow of Death
* Proserpine
* A Vision of Fiammetta
* Pygmalion and the Image series
* The Beloved
* Cymon and Iphigenia
* King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid
* The Day Dream
* The Golden Stairs
* Dante and Beatrice
* Love's Messenger
* The Magic Circle
* The Legend of Briar Rose
* The Lady of Shalott (Waterhouse)
* The Roses of Heliogabalus
* Lilith
* Eos
* Flaming June
* Hope
* Hylas and the Nymphs
* Lady Godiva
* The Love Potion
* The Lady of Shalott (Hunt)
* I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Said the Lady of Shalott

Models|

* Elizabeth Siddal
* Fanny Cornforth
* Effie Gray
* Sophie Gray
* Annie Miller
* Jane Morris
* Marie Spartali Stillman
* Alexa Wilding
* Maria Zambaco
* Dorothy Dene
* Fanny Eaton
* Ruth Herbert

Related|

* The Germ
* Hogarth Club
* Morris & Co.
* Rossetti and His Circle (1922 book)
* Dante's Inferno (1967 film)
* The Love School (1975 series)
* Desperate Romantics (2009 series)
* Effie Gray (2014 film)

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Australia
* Czech Republic
* Portugal
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Croatia
* Poland
* Israel

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* ULAN
* MusicBrainz
* RKD Artists
* Victoria
* Musée d'Orsay
* Auckland
* National Gallery of Canada

People|

* Trove
* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC

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