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John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They were a group of artists that imitated the style of Raphael (one of the 4 legendary Renaissance artist). Their lot are contemporaries with the impressionist artists. Some of Waterhouse paintings have an impressionist feel about them. Like his pals, Waterhouse had romantic aspirations. Romanticism came about as a response to the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment.They where skeptic about the improvements of science. They did not share the naive belief that science would end inequality. They sought to fill a spiritual void created by science. Thus, they looked to inspirations at myths, legends and the medieval times.

In the early days of Waterhouse's career, he focused on myth and on the life of his contemporaries. Later, he hooked up with the Pre-Raphealites and his style changed quite a bit. Ok, now that we know a bit about Waterhouse lets gets this show on the road. I frankly, choose this artist because I like the way he paints. Anyhow, the first one is called "Gathering Summer Flowers in a Devonshire Garden". Its pretty common for artist title works based on the action taking place. It was made roughly 1893-1910. This painting was made as a wedding gift to his sister. The maiden depicted there is said to be Waterhouse's wife.

The style of the painting is impressionism. For those that do not know, impressionism focuses on light. They paint things as they appear to the eye. Thus, the farther away you get the better an impressionist painting looks. The place itself looks a lot like Italy. It makes sense cause Waterhouse spent most of his time in Italy. This painting is similar to Waterhouse early work that feature people doing "whatever".   

The next pretty one is called Gathering Almond Blossoms (1916). Waterhouse has quite the number of paintings showing maidens gathering flowers. The scenery itself takes place also in Italy. Its interesting how the daughter is observing her mother carrying gathering blossoms. The almonds flowers means watchfulness and promise. They appear often in the Old Testament. I guess this time the flowers stand for watchfulness. Both maidens are watchful. Then again, those blossoms do flower early. Perhaps, the lil girl might become a woman real soon. Aside from that, I noticed that artists tend to either get looser or tighter with their brushstrokes at their old age. Its a good way to tell the date of their artworks. Like the previous, this one is among his last works. 

This one is called "Camellias" (1910). Those are the pretty  red flowers close to the foreground. This flower means desire, passion, and refinement. Well, the rosy cheeks and lips do fit the whole passion and desire meaning of the flower. The refinement can be seen in the combed hair and dress. Its interesting how she is observing us from the corner of her eye. This painting too is of a later period. The brushstrokes are really super loose. 

The next one is a lovely portrait Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse.  She was the wife of William Waterhouse. Like her husband, she too was a painter. However, she focused on painting flowers. This portrait was painted in 1885, three years after their marriage. Here we see numerous brushstrokes. The section with the most details is the face. Its very unusual to have a portrait whose personage has their eyes in shadows. It sorta reminds me of one of the many self portraits of Rembrandt. Perhaps, Waterhouse wanted to draw attention to Esther's mouth. She is in the process of speaking. Her gaze is fixed on something before her. Her face is very expressive. The brushstrokes are really visible, specially in the background. I think that's everything.

This one is The Unwelcome Companion: A Street Scene in Cairo (1843). She is unwelcome because she is courtesan.  Part of the Romanticism movement, included the interest in exotic places. Here we have an exotic beauty in an exotic place. Her dress is strange and different for a European. If you noticed, she is covered in a shade. It seems as if the prostitute and the viewer are hiding in an alleyway. Because she is away from the public gaze, she does not sport a veil. Her tilted head is typical for those waiting to be kissed (in classical art). Her hand at her hip shows that she is waiting.

I am not certain about that thing she has in her hand. I think this painting was chopped a bit at the bottom. I think her shimmering robes are either Cashmere or satin. Either way, its a very pretty shimmering red robe. Red, the classical color of passion, love, lust... As for the eyes, they have a dead look about them. They are not looking at the viewer, or at anyone. Its that kind of look that means, "Do your worst" or "Lets just get this over with". It really is quite depressing. Specially, because the viewer is the costumer!!

A Song of Springtime is really quite lovely. You see here a pretty maiden at the blossom of her beauty. Like Persephone, this maiden is gathering flowers. She is using her dress to carry them. Like all depictions of allegories, she has her top exposed. Around her, we see four children. One of them is playing a pipe like the the pagan god, Pandemonium. Pan (for short) usually accompanies nymphs during their flower picking. He is a tipical sight in such pastoral scenes. They are all in the flower of their youth.

The main trees around there are those of almonds. We already saw these trees in an earlier painting. So, they go well with the spring theme. All the characters are at the flower of their youth. The red hair means that she is burning with desire. Plus, its such a rare hair color. Its actually a mutation. People with red hair get higher endorphin (pain killer, pleasure giving hormones) boots than regular folks. I guess that's the reason why red heads have always been said to be great in bed. 

 The next lovely Waterhouse artwork is a sketch called An Eastern Reminiscence (1874). Here we see a bored Chinese lady smoking Opium. Opium was quite popular during those days. Its very interesting her hand at her hip. I guess her visitor (that is us) is boring her. She has drink near her. The rendering of her house, the lil table, and carpet is pretty neat. You get the overall, Impression of how the place looks like. You know, Impressionism lends itself well to sketches. However, as the great Edgard Degas once said, " No is is less spontaneous than me". Meaning, that all this was planned. 

 The next portrait shows Miss Margaret Henderson (1900). I think she was a commissioned work. Her figure is emblematic. One cannot tell much from her face. You can tell she is stern because of her hand curled into a knuckle resting at her lap. The closed fan means that she is engaged. She has a pink rose on her dress. Pink roses means gentleness. In the background, we have a bouquet of pink and red flowers. Red rose, we already know its meaning. From these symbols, we can tell a lot about Miss Henderson.

 The next pink cutie is Mrs A.P. Henderson (1909). I guess she is a later portrait of Margaret. I think? Perhaps, she is the new wife of Mr. Henderson. Like the previous maiden, she sports a pink rose. Both do kinda look alike. She seems to have one brown eye and the other blue. Then again, visually with a shadow we might not be able to see blue eyes.

The next lovely painting is Portrait of a Young Woman. There are like a billion paintings with that same title.  I am not certain what she is holding in her hand. On her lap, she has an umbrella. This means that she is protective. She is also a gentle pink rose. For a background, she has the shade of a tree. Behind her, we can see a lil mill. Truly, quite the interesting portrait. 

The next painting is called "Resting". Basically, a maid is resting from her laundry work. It is a typical genre scene.  Its interesting the red rose on her hair. Her pose also seems inviting. I guess she is going to be doing other things aside from resting. Its not surprise, maids have been hot since immemorial times. 

Well, another simple title: The Orange Gatherers (1890). Here we see two women working. Sitting on the mat, one of their daughters is sitting down eating an orange. You can see pieces of the peal over the girl's dress. She too is a worker. You can see her barefoot feet all black. Her mama does not have enough to buy  the lil girl shoes. This genre scene also takes place in Italy. I think that is everything about this painting.

Two Little Italian Girls by a Village. Simple enough title. It seems that Italy had a large growth in the Orange industry. This is the second genre painting featuring orange gatherers.  Well, here both girls are talking. Based on their clothing, they must be workers.

The next painting is called Good Neighbors. Here a mother is sewing while her toddler plays with a pillow. One of her dolls is lying by the feet of her Mama. Its cute how one of her lil shoe has fallen. Its really quite the homely painting. We can see the neighbors looming over the brick wall. The women in this painting seem to be enjoying their lil chitchat. Sewing was looked well upon as a leisure activity. Women with busy hand where less likely to sin.To my feminist readers, that whole sewing thing was a moralist Calvinistic belief. Here this woman appears as a moral exemplar. She is taking care of her child and staying out of trouble.

 This cutie is Miss Betty Pollock (1911). I really don't have any information on her. Like other romanticist portraits, Betty is surrounded by creepy nature. She is near a brook in the middle of the forest. The color white is for purity. I think that's everything about this painting.

Here is another oval shaped painting. She is Mrs. Charles. She has a red flower on her dress. She is so serious. Her black dress is quite lovely and shimmering. Other than that, I do not know... 

This is the painting of Portrait of Miss Claire Kenworthy. I noticed that Waterhouse often has his maiden holding their hands as shown above. This maiden is so pale... I can see why Waterhouse uses red flowers. They tend to add a lil color to the painting. 

Here is the last painting for now. This cutie is Phyllis. She has the same pose as Miss Claire. Perhaps, she is the daughter of Miss Claire. The lil girl is pretty cute. Behind her, I see a garland of flowers (symbol of youth and spring). I think that is all for now. 

John William Waterhouse of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Part 2: Rome

Ok, hello chibis. Here is the second blog of Waterhouse. The first blog dealt with subject matters of Waterhouse's time period (more or less). This one will feature scenes from the Roman Empire. The first one is called Dolce far Niente. Its a french name. I am not certain about its English title. In any case, it does not matter much. This is a historical genre scene. Here a Roman lady is resting on her sofa. She is outside the patio looking at some doves. The architecture is quite accurate. I like the checkerboard floor a lot. Its pretty neat the Roman Lady's fan. Back then, having one's hair pulled up was the fashion. To have it down meant you where a maniac (or a crazed female worshiper of Bacchus). All honorable Roman woman citizen wore their hair up.

The next painting of Waterhouse is called "Gone but not Forgotten". It is a funerary themed painting.  Here we see a wealthy widow visiting her dead husband. She is wearing black, the color of mourning and death.  She is gazing at something that appears to be a Roman armor. Perhaps her husband died in the war. Its not too uncommon for all who desire citizenship to join the army. Plus, the veterans had a monopoly of all the seats of powers. During those days, power led to wealth. The usual price for army service were lands and slaves. Thus, there was a lot of pressure for young men to join the army and make a name for themselves. This unknown soldier died for the sake of his loving wife who now mourns for him.

Aw...how cute. Here this pretty lil girl is feeding three doves, a robin and a raven. I think this one is called "In the Peristyle ".  The Peristyle is an open courtyard Roman Garden. They are usually in the center of the house. The lil girl herself is extremely pretty. There is a suggested sensuality about her exposed shoulder. There is also the matter of her loose hair. That lil girl has just become a woman. She is still  lot like a child. She enjoys in the frivolous childhood games like feeding the lil birds. Plus, the pink is more of a child like color. The columns in the background are of Doric order.

This painting is also called Donce Far Niente. Here the Roman maiden is playing around with one of the feathers of her fan. Its interesting the place where she is resting at. You can see a vase with a flower next to her. I guess this too is a genre scene of leisure activities. She does seem as bored as the first maiden from the previous Donce Far Niente.

Now this is another simple one. Its called "A Flower Stall". Here three Roman women are purchasing flowers. The shopkeeper is a maiden covered in a pink mantle. Hey... weren't veiled maidens Jewish back then? I do remember the jews back then were well integrated into the roman society. They set themselves apart from the rest by wearing veils and stuff. There are numerous instances of widows in business. I guess she is of the sort.

The next painting is called " Consulting the Oracle ". Here a group of women are talking to the oracle. In Rome, the oracle was tended by women priestess known as Vespal Virgins. Should they loose their virginity they would be buried alive with their lover. All of the characters are tentative to the words spoken behind the veil. The interpreter is the maiden in black. I think one of the women got a bad prediction. You can see her crying in the background. The other lady next to her is holding her hands to her hearth. She seems very desperate. The scenery itself is quite archeologically accurate. Its really quite the fine rendering of the temple of the oracle. This too might be considered a historical genre painting. It was often that the roman citizens visited the oracles for guidance.

The next painting is called "A Sick Child brought into the Temple of Aesculapius". This one too is a genre scene. In the old days, they used to take the sick to the temple of the gods. Here the priest in white is performing the ritual. I think the sick child is the girl sitting on the floor. Her lil sister is helping in the healing ritual. She is holding up a laurel leaf as her mother guides her hand movements. Meanwhile, the father in brown is observing his small child to make certain she does not make mistakes.Behind them you can see a slave with a broom. It is a typical hospital of the time.All are praying in front of the statue of the deity. Close to the foreground we can see an offering of fruits.

 This painting ,like the others, shows Waterhouse's eye for detail. I mean, look at the tiles on the floor!! Can you imagine how long it took to paint each lil line? Anyhow, this painting is called "After the Dance". Here the dancing slaves are resting after entertaining their masters. The lil girl is sleeping while the boy is looking on forward. In the background, we can see the musicians and an onlooker. I think they had a lot of those weird mats with pillows all over the house in case someone ever needed a nap.Perhaps, the Romans lacked the concept of bedroom. Other interesting things about the room are the vase and the relief. In the relief, we see some people being crowed with laurels.

This painting is called " At Capri". I guess Capri is another place in the roman household. Here the mother is making trenzas (I don't know what it is called in English). Her lil daughter has just finished and is looking at her reflection. She has a lil flower on her hair. Both do look cute and quite realistic. In front of them, there is a garden. Near the lil girl there is a blue bead necklace. I like a lot that fancy rug. It looks Persian. If I remember correctly, Pre-Raphealites liked to depict redheads often. The mother has the loveliest red hair. In any case, this too is another historical genre scene.

This painting is called "The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius" . His rule was one major fiasco. He is in the middle of Business, but all he cares about is feeding his birdies. You can see in the background, the senators trying to address the Emperor. However, Honorius has only eyes for his pigeons and his chickens. The inside of the palace is rather luxurious. The throne is really something else. You can see incense near him. Well, even by declining Roman Empire standards Honorius was a really bad ruler. He became ruler at the age of eight. In this painting we see that he does not seem to have grasped the seriousness of his position. Well, that's what hereditary rule does for you. One king is good and the rest go from bad to worse. Machiavelli mentions this in his Discourse of Levi. There he argues for a Republic after the Prince restores order in the kingdom. Anyhow, Honorius is mostly know for being the Emperor during the sacking of Rome. Man, those Barbarians turned the capital upside down.

The next painting is called "A Roman Offering". Here a pretty maiden is making an offering to a household deity. You can tell that its a home shrine cause it is not enclosed in a temple. This one is quite painterly, rather sketchy around the edges. I think that's everything.

Ok, the next painting is called "The Slave". That must be that maiden in blue. She is a Persian slave. Well, those Romans did get around. Aw... I don't think this one belongs to post. Oh well, I am not gonna stuff it in the previous blog. Lets just get moving. Basically, we have a cute Persian slave.

Ok, this one is "La Fileuse". I think a fileuse is that ball yarn that the lady is holding. She is loosing up a string. I think she is making a robe. Her golden dress is just as fine. Sewing has been quite popular ever since the creation of yarn. 

Ok, the next Roman lady is meditating next to a lil pagan idol. I would have found a better version, but I do not know the title of this painting. The laurel leaf is a sign of a philosopher.

The top darling is Cleopatra. She was half Greek, half Egyptian. She was ruling Egypt during the time of Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. She killed herself because she did not want to be a political prisoner. Here she is at the prime of her power. She was one powerful Pharaoh. She has her hand on top of a polar bear's head. Plus, her face is so stern, so serious.

In this painting we have "The Remorse of the Emperor Nero after the Murder of his Mother". I remember Nero. He was a really unpopular Emperor. He built himself a fancy mansion of solid gold (I am not joking). This obviously did not win him any points with the Roman citizenship. As a matter of fact, he was the inspiration for the apocalypse. His name's number was the 666. Many blamed him for setting Rome on fire. Mostly cause he built his fancy palace on top of the ruins of the city. I think he was seen as the devil because he burned Christians whenever he was cold in his garden. His paranoia led him to slay his own mother. Here in this painting, he is feeling remorseful (inside his golden palace).

This painting is called "The Household Gods". The two main Gods closer to us are Hera and Zeus. The next one is Athena. She usually wears an armor or sports her hair like a boy. In the background, I can see a relief of some dancing folks. Its pretty interesting the rituals taking place in this temple.

Well, what Romans are really famous for is for their elaborate executions. Here they have just finished their handiwork on Saint Eulalia. She was 13 years old when executed. For being a christian, she was subjected to 13 tortures. Here she has just been cut down from the cross. You can see her lifeless body on the cold ground. Around her, hundreds of doves are coming to see her. Meanwhile, the roman legionaries are keeping the curious onlookers from burying the body. The scenery is not half bad. You can see the Doric Architecture in the background. I think there are even a few Corinthian columns here and there. 

The last one is "Mariamne Leaving the Judgement Seat of Herod". If I remember correctly, Herod was the guy who tried to slay baby Jesus. He also massacred the innocents (all the male children between the ages of newborns and two year old's). He was so paranoid about the messiah back then. He wanted to hold onto the seat of power so badly that he had his wife and children executed. You see, Mariamne was needed to legitimize his rule. Herod was not a true legitimate Jew. He married Mariamne because of her direct line to the old Jewish Empire. However, at a certain point he grew distrusting of her and thus had her killed.

Here she is just leaving the Seat of Herod after hearing the decree of her execution. You can see her anger in the clenching of her fist. She is giving one final look at her husband in the hope that he changes his mind. There is a lot of restrained emotions in this painting. It is truly something else. As a matter of fact, I never seen a depiction in artwork of this event. 

Well, this one is just to stuff the seven that I forgot to rate. Ok, the first one is a study for the rosebuds painting. You can see the idea starting to take shape. We have yet to see the stained glass window. Originally, the maiden was going to have the flowers like a bouquet. I guess the basin worked better.

This painting is called "Lilies, Poppies and Carnations Study".Well, its a simple painting of nature. Nothing too far out there. Its pretty nice with the varied brushstrokes and its impressionistic feel.

Young St. Joan in Grace

Well, the above painting is called "St.Joan" (or St. Joan of Arc). She is one of three saints depicted by "Waterhouse. She looks very beautiful as shown above. Her gaze is toward the heaven.  The model chosen for St. Joan is extremely pretty. Her big eyes are on big piece of work.

This one is called "The Love Philtre". This painting is in black and white because its location is unknown. All we have to work with is a black and white reproduction in a book. Still, we do get a good feel about the painting. Here this maiden is pouring a potion into a cup. The scenery is not half bad.

This one is called "The Rose Bower". Eh, its simple enough. Real loose brushstrokes. A maiden among roses.

This one is the last one for sure. Its called Vanity. Basically, a maiden with a flower on her hair is looking at her reflection in the mirror. Next to her there are all objects of Vanity. There is a pearl necklace and other things. Its really pretty. In any case, this one deserves 5 stars. Well, we are officially done with John William Waterhouse. Goodnight!!