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Like other great romanticism artist, Waterhouse had an interest in medieval legends. That time of spirituality, saints and the bizarre fascinated those skeptic romanticist. They where tired of empty logic devoid of meaning. They sought to escape the new materialism. Thus, the looked into the past to find inspiration. Ok, the first painting features Saint Cecilia (1895). She was a blind saint popular during medieval times. She is know as the patron saint of Music. She was only a young teenage girl when the Romans had her killed (along with her husband). As they prepared to chop her head off, she sang to her lord. Before she was taken away, she took care to leave her her home church in order (in the early days churches where held in the houses of wealthy worshipers. She used to host Christian worship in her house, when the Romans sought to slay her). It seems that the Romans failed trice to cut her head off...she died in her house after receiving the sacrament....

In any case, in Waterhouse's "St. Cecilia" the Saint is in the garden listening to two angels playing the violin. It was said that on her wedding the angels played a song for her. On her lap, the bible lies open. The graphics on the bible show that it is one of those fancy medieval bibles. On the background, I see ships, the sea and the rising sun. She is in a rose garden and has before her one of those platform where one knees down for prayer. She is wearing a lovely medieval attire. She is really one pretty saint. The texture on her dress is really quite luxurious. The angels ,on the other hand, sports a lovely white medieval dress with golden linings. Their angel wings are quite realistic. They look like blue hock wings. The colors are quite natural. When it comes to rendering scenery, architecture and historical clothing Waterhouse is an expert. I think that is everything to be said about this first medieval painting.

The painting above is called "Lady Clare". She is from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I reproduced the poem down bellow. This maiden was betrothed to her cousin. Here we see her dressed in a simple brownish red dress. She is a  forest maiden (i.e. she likes the outdoors). "A lily-white doe" refers to the white deer behind her.  She has a cute pink flower on her hair (for gentleness). The red top bellow her brown dress refers to hidden passion. The lavender flowers in the bottom right stands for "something special". I am not certain about the flowers in the corner left. Over all, the painting with its symbols is pretty neat. 

It was the time when lilies blow,

And clouds are highest up in air,

Lord Ronald brought a lily-white doe

To give to his cousin, Lady Clare.

 

I throw they did not part in scorn:

Lovers long-betrothed were they:

They two will wed the morrow morn,–

God’s blessing on the day!

This painting is called "The Missal". The missal is  is religious book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass. This maiden is reading her Missal inside her home shrine. Most houses during medieval times had private chapels built into their homes. It was common that people would read their Missals daily. The surrounding has quite the lovely illumination. The light comes from the open window. The design of the columns is Romanesque ( gothic with Roman influence). The checkerboard floor is very expensive. On the chair, we can see the genuine Bible. Behind her, there is a vase with two white roses and a red one. Overall, the painting is imbued with spirituality. 

The next painting is called " Gather ye rosebuds, while ye may". It is from the opening stanza of a poem by Robert Herrick. Here is the stanza down bellow for you folks. IT is one of those Carpe Diem type poems. Basically, this poem speaks of the passage of time. It tells us to enjoy the moment because tomorrow the flower will have withered. Like the poem, the maiden above is holding up a bowl filled with flowers. Those flowers look beautiful, filled with life. Soon, they will whiter and die. This maiden too is like the roses. Its interesting how her green dress is like the stem of the flowers. Her head is the petals. Behind her, we see a mirror. Mirrors always reflect the truth. We see that her gaze is focused on the stained glass. Stained glass where usually found in churches. Her placement ,inside church walls, shows that her thoughts are focused on the spirit. She is aware that her beauty will not last forever. However, the beauty of the soul is eternal. Thus, while we remain alive, we must gather the rosebuds while we may...

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today,

Tomorrow will be dying.

The above painting is called "Dante and Beatrice". The style itself is impressionistic Romanticism. We are all familiar with the story of Dante going through heaven and hell in search of Beatrice. Its a real bummer that he started his search at the bottom of hell. There is no true reason for Beatrix being in hell. As a matter of fact, Dante only saw the girl once, when she was twelve. He then got married and the years passed. One day, (I forget why) Dante was exiled from Italy. During his exile, he got terribly depressed and thus wrote "The Divine Comedy". In this scene, Dante finally meets Beatrix in the Garden of Eden. She is dressed in pure white and she carries flowers in her arms. Dante ,in red, is worshiping Beatrice. Behind him, we see two angels. I think the entire scenery is taken verbatim from the poem. I am not too certain, I never got around to reading the poem. 

The next painting is called " Fair Rosamund". She is a character from an Old English Ballad. Basically, Rosamund was a pretty lady. The king was in love with her; so he built a lodge for her to keep her safe from the wrath of the queen. This lodge was surrounded by a garden maze. You could only get to her by following a thread. She was said to have been poisoned by the queen who found her way into the lodge. In other versions, she retired to a nunnery or something...I think in this version Rosamund is at the lodge. She has her arms crossed and she is looking out the window waiting for the king to arrive. Behind her, the queen ,disguised as a servant, is glaring at her. Its interesting the sewing work on the red tapestry that hides the queen. It kinda looks like the Bayeux Tapestry. Very medieval in scenery. On top of the chair, we see Rosamund's sewing. Sewing was an art practiced by ladies to keep sin at bay. Thus, while she waited for her lover she practiced sewing. She sewed three knights with a castle in the background. The maiden herself is a redhead. Red head where popular among the Pre-Raphaelite movements. To show a passionate maiden, one gave her red hair. She is also sporting a lovely blue dress. Climbing the wall, we have a lil rose bush with a single pink rose. Outside we see more of the lodge, the maze and the castle.

The next painting is called " I am sick of shadows, said the Lady of Shalott". From what I learned, the Lady of Shalott was a maiden that lived near Camelot. She had a strange curse that forced her to keep working on her loom without looking directly at the world. She sees the happenings of the world through a mirror. The phrase, I am sick of shadows, refers to the fact that this Lady is tired of looking at the world through a mirror. For the Lady of Shalott, the mirror is a shadow of the world. She said this after seeing Lancelot. She fell in love with him and tried to fight the curse. She made her way to on a boat. She dies before arriving.

In Waterhouse's painting, the lady has just stopped looming. She is stretching and thinking to herself about the tragedy of her life. If you notice, all her embroidery has scenes painted in circles. She sews the scenes inside her mirror. We can see Lancelot and Lady Guinevere walking together inside the mirror. Camelot is also on the horizon. Its pretty neat the realism of the loom machine and the threads. The details in the painting are historically accurate. The Lady of Shallot herself is wearing a lovely red dress, the color of passion and desire. She has quite the weary expression about her. Her life really is quite monotonous...  Overall, this painting is a metaphor for the isolation that maidens experienced through medieval time. Noble ladies obviously did not work. The loom was meant to keep them busy and away from handsome men. The fact that she died when seeking out her lover shows the tragedy that befell such noble maidens who deviated from medieval norms. 

This cute lil painting is called Isabella and the Pot Basin. If I remember correctly, Isabella had killed her husband and she placed his bones in a Pot Basin. From then on, she treated the Basin as her lover. In Waterhouse painting, we have Isabella ,kneeling, hugging the Pot. This Pot Basin is inside the garden. What you must know about romanticism romance is that they are morbid and bizarre. Men falling for nymphs (that drown them), knights kissing statues (whose husband punches the lights out of them), The Phantom of the Opera, Fausto,ect. These  kinds of morbid romances are a common place in a romantic world. Ok, moving along. 

The next painting is "A Tale from the Decameron" . The Decameron is the opus magnus of Giovanni Boccacio . Basically, seven women and three men escape Florence. They were escaping from the plague. In this story, once a day, two play at being king and queen. The rulers decide their leisure activities in the garden and what songs they will sing. Each day ends with a fancy song and story. In this scene, the bards are arranging a song with the maidens. In the background, we see the current king and queen. Around them we can see a beautiful garden. These young men and women are trying to forget the horrors of the plague. Its very interesting the man to women ration in the Decameron... a real bummer. hehehehe. All the costumes of the maiden are unique and their faces individualized. The three men are also up to date with fashion.

We cannot talk about medieval times without mentioning witches. Above, is a classical depiction of a real witch from medieval times. The painting itself is called " The Magic Circle". The magic circle was key to getting any spells to work. In any case, here we see a witch forming the circle. The tip of her wand paints a fuming circle. Outside the circle, crows lie watching. If you notice, the crow at the far left is standing on top of a human skull. Inside the circle, the cauldron is sending white fumes. Toward the far right, we can see all the ingredients that are going to enter the cauldron. The witch is barefooted out of respect for the vile ground that she is treading. Over the horizon, we can see her cave and the town that is about to get curse. The witch herself has a greyish color. This is due to her vampire lifestyle. Sleeping in the day and only coming out to curse people under the moonlight. Its very interesting her wild hair and attire. You notice that she holds her cycle dagger as she makes the circle. Most spell casters always keep a dagger about them in case they are unable to cast. Her mouth is open, as if she is chanting her spell. Overall, the details create quite the eerie mysterious mood.

Ah... Ophelia, Ophelia. She was a popular character for the romanticist artists. She is not medieval per say. However, Hamlet takes place during the medieval times. Like all you may know, Ophelia was the crazed wife to be of Hamlet. She is usually portrayed with rue flower. Rue flowers stand for regret. Around the end of the play, she hands them to all the male characters (this scene occurs after she goes mad because of her father's death). In this painting, Waterhouse has Ophelia about to climb the willow tree. This tree was the cause of her demise (she climbed it and fell... though there are some suicidal allusions in Shakespeare's Hamlet). Behind her we can see some people observing her curiously. Her face has madness written all over her. Its such a pity because she was quite the fair maiden.

The next painting is called "Windflowers" (1903). The windflower is also know as Anemone. Its a poisonous plant.  Basically, she is part of a series of maidens being sweep by the wind. All that matters in this painting, is the effect of wind on nature and on the character. The wind seems strong, its setting her hair and dress in turmoil. Its quite the lovely depiction of the wind. 

This painting is called "The Soul of the Rose, aka My Sweet Rose". This painting is based on a poem by Thomas Campion. I reproduced the poem down bellow (it is also 5 star worthy). In any case, roses had a lot of sensual appeal. They appealed to the sense of smell and it also alluded to the purity of the maiden. Anyhow, Waterhouse has the maiden smelling a pink flower. Her face looks quite pretty. Her dress also mimics the colors of the climbing rosebush. Her hair also has the style that resembles a red rose. She also has pearls adorning her hair. Pearls are a symbol of perfection and purity (because of its color and shape). Behind her, we see an Italian scenery. 

There is a garden in her face

Where roses and lillies grow;

A heav'nly paradise is that place

Wherein all pleasant fruits do flow.

There cherries grow which none may buy

Till "Cherry-ripe" themselves do cry.

 

Those cherries fairly do enclose

Of orient pearl a double row,

Which when her lovely laughter shows,

They look like rose-buds filled with snow;

 

Yet them nor peer nor prince can buy,

Till "Cherry-ripe" themselves do cry.

Her eyes like angels watch them still;

Her brows like bended bows do stand,

 

Threat'ning with piercing frowns to kill

All that attempt, with eye or hand

Those sacred cherries to come nigh

Till "Cherry-ripe" themselves do cry.

The next pretty maiden is Juliet. Well, we already know a lot about her. Waterhouse has depicted the fragility of this 16 year old rather well. She is fiddling with her blue bead necklace. Her red dress (of passion) works pretty well. The pink overlay for gentleness is also a nice addition. I think she is inside the Capulet mansion. 

This one is "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" or The Beautiful Lady Without Pity. This is based on a poem by John Keats. Basically, this maiden lures men and makes love to them. Once they can live without her she lures them to her layer... The main character was also enthralled by her. While he slept inside her grotto, her other victims warmed him about her. He escaped but could not forget. He still returned to the place he mer her looking for her. In Waterhouse's painting, the Lady is luring in the knight. He is gazing upon her, enraptured. It is quite the beautiful love scene in the forest. The purple of her dress matches well with the highlights of the armor. Truly, all the elements work well. Since the poem or ballad is not so long I shall place it bellow the painting. It really is quite the nice narrative poem. 

I.

O WHAT can ail thee, knight-at-arms,    

  Alone and palely loitering?       

The sedge has wither’d from the lake,   

  And no birds sing.        

             

II.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!               5

  So haggard and so woe-begone?           

The squirrel’s granary is full,      

  And the harvest’s done.            

             

III.

I see a lily on thy brow  

  With anguish moist and fever dew,               10

And on thy cheeks a fading rose

  Fast withereth too.      

             

IV.

I met a lady in the meads,          

  Full beautiful—a faery’s child, 

Her hair was long, her foot was light,              15

  And her eyes were wild.           

             

V.

I made a garland for her head,  

  And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;  

She look’d at me as she did love,             

  And made sweet moan.                     20

             

VI.

I set her on my pacing steed,     

  And nothing else saw all day long,        

For sidelong would she bend, and sing   

  A faery’s song.

             

VII.

She found me roots of relish sweet,                25

  And honey wild, and manna dew,         

And sure in language strange she said—

  “I love thee true.”        

             

VIII.

She took me to her elfin grot,    

  And there she wept, and sigh’d fill sore,                     30

And there I shut her wild wild eyes         

  With kisses four.          

             

IX.

And there she lulled me asleep,

  And there I dream’d—Ah! woe betide!

The latest dream I ever dream’d         35

  On the cold hill’s side. 

             

X.

I saw pale kings and princes too,             

  Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;             

They cried—“La Belle Dame sans Merci 

  Hath thee in thrall!”             40

             

XI.

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,      

  With horrid warning gaped wide,          

And I awoke and found me here,            

  On the cold hill’s side. 

             

XII.

And this is why I sojourn here,           45

  Alone and palely loitering,        

Though the sedge is wither’d from the lake,       

  And no birds sing.        

The next painting shows Lamia. This snake lady is a mythological creature that was popular during the romanticism times. She comes straight out of mythology with the colors of a romanticism world. This scene in specific is derived from another of John Keats's femme fatale poems. Basically, Lamia was a maiden trapped in the form of a serpent. Hermes in his quest for his lover girl runs into Lamia. She tells him the location of his lover in exchange for being returned to her human form. Here Lamia is speaking with the man she loves. The scales of her former self lie discarded on the ground. She is looking intently at her lover. I would like to tell you that this story has a happy ending. However, on their wedding day the Sage Apollonius revealed to the lover boy the true identity of Lamia. She turned back into a snake and her lover died of grief. Oh, down bellow is a line from the poem. It critiques philosophy for taking the fun out of things.

Do not all charms fly

At the mere touch of cold philosophy?

There was an awful rainbow once in heaven:

We know her woof, her texture; she is given

In the dull catalogue of common things.

Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,

Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,

Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine

Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made

The tender-person'd Lamia melt into a shade.

Above, we have Mariana in the South. This is from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Basically, Mariana is lovesick. She once was in love but now she wakes at night all alone. Her love has died and she wishes for death herself. The letters of her lover lie scattered (you can see them at the bottom of the painting) in front of the mirror. She sees herself in the mirror mourning the form that her lover adored. She realizes that it will soon fade away. She here prays to the Virgin Mary asking questions about her lover. The slightly open door shows the beautiful day outside. However, Mariana is trapped in her melancholy. She keeps looking at herself in the mirror. Now reading the poem over, I think her lover left her because she was turning ugly. In any case, she jumped out of the balcony (and died). Below is the ending line, for pharmaceutical purposes. 

And weeping then she made her moan,

        "The night comes on that knows not morn,

                When I shall cease to be all alone,

                        To live forgotten, and love forlorn."

 

The next painting is called "The Flower Picker". Well, there is no super obscure reference in this painting. IT is simply a painting of a medieval girl picking flowers. Romanticism was all naturely about things. You can see a lovely sunset, a meadow and a lil red house.

The next painting is a study for the Lady of Shallot. 

In the next scene, the Lady of Shallot (1888) is ridding the boat that will take her to Camelot. The curse is starting to take effect. You can see her right hand resting lifeless on her arm. She is using her good hand to set the boat loose. It is interesting how she is sitting on top of one of her embroidered works. Some of her sewing utensil are also with her. It is as if she is vainly trying to slow down the curse with some hopeless trick. 

Well, we have more on Ophelia. This time Ophelia is adorning her hair with Rueful flowers. Behind her, you can see the marshland where she died. The painting itself, with its loose brushstrokes, is really quite lovely.

Now we have Ophelia resting from her flower picking. This time she is wearing a white dress. The first time Ophelia was played by a woman, the Lady wore white and rueful flowers. White, loose hair and flowers was the typical way of depicting crazed women in plays during the Romanticism period.

The next windy painting is called "Tempest". Here a maiden is looking at a ship sinking. She does not realize that there is a drowned man by the shore. Judging by her hand to her hearth, the lady must be alarmed by what she sees. This one too belongs to Waterhouse windy depictions. 

The next painting could work as Roman . However, the background and the surroundings is totally medieval. During the medieval times the cult of the Virgin Mary was blossoming. Sometimes there were far more depictions of the Virgin than that of Christ in certain churches. Then again, the image of a mother and a baby has always been popular since immemorial times. Only recently has it gone out of usage (for reasons that I refuse to mention, but will allude to in my silence). We all know of the Annunciation. Here the angel tells the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to God. You can see, the Torah on a stand (this shows that the Virgin was literate). On the floor, you can see a yarn string. She must have been working on sewing when the angel broke the news to her. Her hand on her head shows her surprise. The angel wings look like regular bird wings. I think the messenger was Arch Angel Micheal. It has quite the androgynous look about it.

The next painting is called "The Shrine" . During Medieval times, pilgrimages where a commonplace thing. Many used to travel all over the place to worship the relics of dead saints. In this painting, a maiden is smelling the flower offerings. We cannot make out the identity of the Saint. It seems to appeal to the sense of smell. 

The next painting is called , "The Crystal Ball". This item was commonly used by seers or gypsies to see spirits, the future, the past, the present ect. This maiden herself is of a respectable repute. She is not in the forest invoking some malediction or other. She is trying out some magic or other. There lies a spell book, a wand and skull on the table. Judging by her distressed expression, she wishes to see a love one who has departed. Her red dress shows her desire...

The next painting is called " The Enchanted Garden" (1916). This is work was left unfinished because Waterhouse die. Still, the unfinished version is pretty lovely. Here we see lots of elements of spring time. It is as if Waterhouse was looking back at his youthful days now that death was just around the corner. In the center, we have 5 maidens. Each is a type of maiden that Waterhouse most often depicted. The one in pink is the frighten, gentle maiden. Next to her, is the one who appeals to the sense of smell. Following we have the inspired maiden looking at God above. The crazed maiden (or an allusion to Ophelia) follows. Lastly, we have a lil girl. There are two men in the painting. One gazes at the group of damsels. Based on their dark somber colors, methinks they are just decorations.

This is my personal favorite of all of Waterhouse's depictions of Lady of Shallot. In this very moment, Lancelot is passing by...For the first time, Lady of Shallot was able to gaze upon him. Her gaze is focused on him with passionate desire. If you notice, the curse is starting to twist around her legs. The strings of her loom bar her movements. Still, she is in the process of rising in search of the man she loved so dearly. We are all familiar by now with her room. If you look over her shoulder, you can see Lancelot reflected in the mirror. If you noticed, the mirror is cracked on the side of the passing Lancelot. That is a very ill omen...

Now, to finish this super long blog we have "Tristram and Isolde" (1916). This ill fated couple was the inspiration for Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and the romance between Lancelot and Guinevere. From what I read, Isolde was taken in by Tristam as a wife for his king. Isolde was given a love potion to make her tolerate her new husband. Instead of giving it to her rightful mate, she gives it to the knight and both fall madly in love with one another. Like offering the forbidden fruit, Isolde (who has already taken the potion) offers its essence to Tristam. This sea voyage is the start of their love. Its a weird story... I am not going to go nuts about the ending (there is like 1000 different versions).In any case, this painting deserves 5 stars. I hope you like this cruise through medieval times thanks to the art of Waterhouse. I thank you for reading, Tata and Goodnight!!