John William Waterhouse – A Modern Classic
John William Waterhouse (Nino) was born in 1849. His father was a talented artist working in Rome when his son was born. In 1850 the family returned to London England where John assisted in his father’s studio until he was accepted by The Royal Academy in 1871.
Waterhouse was a prolific and gifted painter who produced a large body of works until his death on February 10th 1917 at the age of sixty-eight. His oil paintings embody the Pre-Raphaelite style – Greek and Arthurian Mythological scenes in which women play the leading role.
The Pre-Raphaelites were an avant-garde group who sought to revise what they regarded as an overly mechanical and formal artistic approach toward oil painting. The Pre-Raphaelites – Initially known and named as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood - was founded in 1848 by William Hunt: A year before John Waterhouse was born – Hence his art works are regarded as modern-day Pre-Raphaelite.
The Waterhouse family home was in South Kensington which is close by to the British and Victoria & Albert Museums as well as The National Gallery: The young John Waterhouse would spend many hours studying and sketching those Classical Artworks on display in these establishments.
Waterhouse was particularly interested in the classical art works of Frederic Leighton and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Both Leighton and Alma-Tadema were incredible draftsmen. Alma-Tadema was a wholly Classical painter who created luxurious and decadent scenes from ancient Rome. The art works of Frederic Leighton were of a similar vein: Depicting ancient Classical, Biblical and historical scenes.
The influence of both artists is predominantly notable in the artist’s early works; produced from around 1870 to 1880 – During which time he visited and studied in Rome several times. Many of his Classical early works were exhibited at the biannual exhibitions held at the British Society of Artists. In 1874 Waterhouse exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition for the first time in 1874. His painting Sleep and His Half Brother Death was a great success: For which Waterhouse was consequently invited to exhibit every summer throughout his life.
Two years later, in 1876, his oil painting After the Dance was given primary position at the Academy’s Summer Exhibition. Again, it was a huge success and from this point John Waterhouse would become an established artist within the London art scene and his success would go from strength to strength from this point onwards.
In 1883 John Waterhouse married artist Esther Kenworthy (Waterhouse) – the daughter of an Ealing art teacher: Neither of their two children survived childhood. Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse enjoyed some artistic recognition: Being invited on several occasions to exhibit her floral themed oil paintings at the Royal Academy. Shortly after their marriage Waterhouse and his wife resided at the Primrose Hill Studios – In the same year John Waterhouse was elected to join the Royal Institute of Watercolor Painters: Although his art works are invariably oil on canvas.
Waterhouse exhibited Consulting the Oracle in the 1884 at the Academy’s Summer Exhibition and the oil painting was purchased by Sir Henry Tate: A millionaire sugar merchant from Lancashire who founded The Tate Gallery in London – In 1888 Tate also purchased The Lady of Shalott from the same Exhibition: Both of which remain on permanent exhibition at the Tate Gallery.
The Lady of Shalott depicts Elaine of Astolat on her final journey to Camelot. This Arturian Legend also inspired Alfred Lord Tennyson to write his tragic poem of the same title. Elaine dies of a broken heart after her love is rejected by Sir Lancelot – A legendary knight of the Round Table. John Waterhouse painted two more versions of The Lady of Shalott in 1894 and 1916 respectively. Today, the 1888 version has become one of Waterhouse’s most recognized art works.
The Lady of Shalott not only reveals this artist’s incredible talent and ebb toward plein-air painting and impressionism: It also reveals his increasing interest in the femme fatale and historical themes strongly associated with the Pre-Raphaelites at the time. Ophelia was another of Waterhouse’s more favored themes – Creating versions in 1888, 1894 and circa 1910. In fact, the last planned oil painting of John Waterhouse was Ophelia in the Cemetery circa 1915. Unfortunately cancer would stop the artist from completing the work and he died soon after in 1917 – John Waterhouse is buried alongside his wife (who outlived him) in Kensal Green Cemetery London.
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