The Magic Circle (Waterhouse paintings)

Two paintings by John William Waterhouse

The Magic Circle

Artist| John William Waterhouse
Year| 1886
Medium| Oil on canvas
Dimensions| 183 cm × 127 cm (72 in × 50 in)
Location| Tate Britain, London
The smaller 1886 version of The Magic Circle, 88 cm x 60 cm (34.6 in x 23.6 in), in a private collection Miranda - The Tempest by J. W. Waterhouse (1916) A study for the painting, c. 1886, in a private collection

The Magic Circle is an 1886 oil painting in the Pre-Raphaelite style by John William Waterhouse. Two copies of the painting were produced. The two paintings and a study depict a witch or sorceress using a wand to draw a fiery magic circle on the Earth to create a ritual space for her ceremonial magic. As was common in the period, Waterhouse repeated his subject on a smaller scale, probably at the request of a collector.

## History

[edit]

The larger prime version of The Magic Circle was shown at the Royal Academy in 1886,[1] the year after Waterhouse was elected an Associate member. Coming after Consulting the Oracle and St. Eulalia, this was Waterhouse's third exhibit with a supernatural theme in as many years.[2] The painting was well received at its exhibition,[citation needed] and was purchased for £650 the same year by the Tate Gallery, through the Chantrey Bequest.[3] The painting was extremely successful with the critics and public alike.[citation needed]

The smaller 1886 version of The Magic Circle measures 88 cm (34.6 in) high and 60 cm (23.6 in) wide. A private collector holds it.[4] Waterhouse painted a c. 1886 study for The Magic Circle, 61.5 cm (24.2 in) high and 41.2 cm (16.2 in) wide, also held by a private collector.[5] He initially sketched the composition in a sepia pen and ink version in 1880–1881.[6]

The Magic Circle was on display at the National Gallery of Australia as part of the Love and Desire exhibition (December 2018 – April 2019).[7][8]

## Description

[edit]

In a style typical of Waterhouse, the main character is a lone female figure placed centrally on the canvas. The surrounding landscape is hazy, as though it is not quite real, and the background figures are only discernible on close inspection, deliberately ensuring the witch is the only image of importance.[1]

Waterhouse paid careful attention to the angles employed in this work, balancing the circle the figure is drawing around herself by using a triangle – her straight arm, extended by the straight stick, held out at 25 degrees to her erect body. The determined face emphasises the witch's power, her exclusion of the ravens and frog – popular symbols representing magic – and her command over the smoke pillar. Instead of billowing outwards or being affected by the wind, it remains in a straight line. A live snake ouroboros loops around the woman's neck.

The Magic Circle is similar in composition to Waterhouse's later 1916 painting, Miranda – The Tempest, which also portrays a woman associated with magic. Miranda wears a dress similar to the witch in The Magic Circle, and her face can only be seen in profile. Unlike Frederick Sandys' portrayals of sorceresses, such as his 1864 Morgan le Fay and 1868 Medea, Waterhouse chose to make his witch's face intent and intriguing, as opposed to malevolent.

## Themes

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Miracles, magic, and the power of prophecy are common themes in Waterhouse's art. More specifically, the notion of woman as enchantress recurs in images such as Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses (1891, Oldham Art Gallery) and Hylas and the Nymphs (1896, Manchester City Art Gallery). His oeuvre also includes several Middle Eastern subjects, in which he drew on the work of contemporary artists such as J. F. Lewis (1805–1876) and Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912), rather than on experience. This is one of Waterhouse's earlier works and reflects his fascination with the exotic.

> 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 are highly eclectic and are derived from several sources: she has the swarthy complexion of a woman of Middle-Eastern origin; her hairstyle is like that of an early Anglo-Saxon; her dress is decorated with Persian or Greek warrior. She holds a crescent-shaped sickle in her left hand, linking her with the moon and Hecate. With the wand in her right hand, she draws a protective magic circle around her. Outside the circle, the landscape is bare and barren; a group of rooks or ravens and a frog – all symbols of evil associated with witchcraft – are excluded. But within its confines are flowers and the woman herself, objects of beauty. The picture's meaning is unclear, but its mystery and exoticism struck a chord with contemporary observers. When the picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1886, the critic for the Magazine of Art wrote, "Mr Waterhouse, in The Magic Circle, is still at his best – original in conception and pictorial in his results"

> — quoted in Hobson, p. 37[1]

## Theories

[edit]

An article in the Pre-Raphaelite Society journal, The Review, has hypothesized that Waterhouse may have painted an image of his face into The Magic Circle and that the image is only viewable at a specific required distance from the painting. The article also suggests that it may have been possible to achieve that distance by viewing the painting through reversed binoculars or opera glasses.[9] An accompanying documentary, Inside the mystery of JW Waterhouse's The Magic Circle, presents the visual argument.[10]

A later PRS Review essay[11] follows this by presenting evidence that the painting is directly inspired by Theocritus's Second Idyll, more commonly known as “The Sorceress,” and in particular by CS Calverley's 1866 translation of the Idylls. An accompanying blog piece[12] presents a detailed argument including evidence that the "face" emerging from the landscape in the painting is that of "Delphis", the Sorceress's lover, whom she is attempting to summon.

## In contemporary culture

[edit]

Harry Furniss created several parodies of The Magic Circle, including one in Punch showing the actress Sarah Bernhardt tending a cauldron[13] and another in an exhibition The Magic Circle, or There's Nothing like a Lather by Soap-and-Waterhouse.[14]

## Popular culture

[edit]

A reproduction of The Magic Circle is one of the paintings featured in The Great Hall at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches in the set dressing of the 2005 children's TV series, The New Worst Witch.

The Magic Circle was part of the Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition at the British Library in 2017.

Another reproduction of The Magic Circle is one of the paintings with an occult theme featuring in the set dressing of the 2018-2020 TV series, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.[15][16]

## See also

[edit]

* List of paintings by John William Waterhouse
* Pentacle

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "John William Waterhouse The Magic Circle 1886". tate.org.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
2. ^ Christie's. "John William Waterhouse, R.A. (1848-1917)". christies.com.
3. ^ "J. W. Waterhouse". johnwilliamwaterhouse.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009.
4. ^ 2013 Sothebys sale
5. ^ "John William Waterhouse, R.A. (1848-1917), Study for The Magic Circle". christies.com. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
6. ^ "Detail from JW Waterhouse Sketch for the Magic Circle". Retrieved 16 September 2020.
7. ^ "Love & Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate". nga.gov.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018.
8. ^ "Artonview 96". Issuu. March 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
9. ^ "'Review' Summer 2018 PDF". Pre-Raphaelite Society. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
10. ^ "Inside the mystery of JW Waterhouse's The Magic Circle, Jennifer & Mark Williams: Web documentary". Retrieved 16 September 2020.
11. ^ Williams, Mark and Jennifer (Summer 2023). "A Mirror of Poesy: New evidence for the inspiration behind John Waterhouse's The Magic Circle & Maurice Greiffenhagen's An Idyll: and the optical effect at the heart of Waterhouse's masterpiece". PRS Review. XXXI (2).
12. ^ Williams, Mark (19 June 2023). "The inspiration behind the magic circle". Waterhouserevealed.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
13. ^ "No. 450. Sarah B. in a New Piece. A big spooney scene". Archived from the original on 4 August 2016.
14. ^ "Archived copy". johnwilliamwaterhouse.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (17 November 2018). "Real witches and pagans break down Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
16. ^ "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Season 1, Episode 3". Retrieved 16 September 2020.

## Further reading

[edit]

* 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.
* Dorment, Richard (29 June 2009), "Waterhouse: The modern Pre-Raphaelite, at the Royal Academy – review", The Daily Telegraph.

## External links

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* Media related to The Magic Circle (John William Waterhouse) at Wikimedia Commons
* johnwilliamwaterhouse.net
* John William Waterhouse (The Art and Life of JW Waterhouse);
* John William Waterhouse (Comprehensive Painting Gallery)
* John William Waterhouse Style and Technique
* Waterhouse at Tate Britain
* Ten Dreams Galleries
* John William Waterhouse in the "History of Art" Archived 27 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

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)
* 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)

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