J. W. Waterhouse - 9781905711369

This survey presents the work of John William Waterhouse (1849-1917), one of Britain's best-loved nineteenth-century painters. Although Waterhouse's compelling scenes are admired worldwide, the story of the man behind them is relatively little known. In these pages, he emerges as the 'modern Pre-Raphaelite', steeped in the colourful emotionalism of Rossetti, Millais and Holman Hunt, but also aware of exciting pictorial innovations that were taking place in France during the later nineteenth century.
Capturing the visual impact of the artist's richly coloured and seductive canvases, this book explores Waterhouse's particular vision of femininity. Especially significant to him were the intense passions celebrated by Homer and Ovid in their retellings of classical myths, by Shakespeare, and by Tennyson and Keats in Romantic verse. His engagement with these poets is revealed in such magnificent pictures as The Lady of Shalott, St Cecilia, Hylas and the Nymphs and A Mermaid.
Sumptuously illustrated and with contributions from leading authorities on Victorian art, this book places Waterhouse's renowned paintings in their proper context and demonstrates his distinctive role in the history of British art.