Guest Author - Karyn Johnson
When it comes to paintings, Pre-Raphaelite art is my favorite, as it has to do generally with literary themes. Of these paintings, those from John William Waterhouse are my favorite. His recurring themes have to do with The Lady of Shalott, and Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
The Lady of Shalott
Waterhouse's inspiration for these paintings is Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott. This character is based on Elaine of Astolat, a woman from Arthurian legend who falls in love with Lancelot, but is rejected. Broken-hearted, she dies, and her body is placed in a boat that floats down the Thames to Camelot, where Lancelot sees her and agrees to pay for her funeral. While other artists have painted her, Waterhouse's renditions are among the most famous, particularly his 1888 version of the flame-haired Elaine in a boat, which is currently on display at London's Tate Gallery. This was his earliest painting on the subject. Elaine was rendered again in 1896 and 1915 (a painting titled Half Sick of Shadows).
Ophelia
Another one of Waterhouse's favorite subjects was women from Shakespeare, particularly Ophelia from Hamlet. She, like the Lady of Shalott, was a favorite subject for many artists, but once again, Waterhouse's renditions are some of the more popular ones. He first painted her in 1889, lying in a meadow. Both his 1894 and 1910 versions depict Ophelia by the water's edge, shortly before her drowning. He had another Ophelia painting planned, but died before it could be completed.
About the Artist Himself
John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was perhaps born to paint, having painters for parents. He was born around the time that the first wave of the Pre-Raphaelite movement began in England, and he eventually became part of the second wave. When he was young, his family moved from Rome back to London and settled in South Kensington, near the newly opened Victoria & Albert Museum. His father taught him painting, and he enrolled in the Royal Academy in 1870.
His early works were based on classical themes, but toward the end of the 1880's, his interest in pre-Raphaelite art grew. His 1888 Lady of Shalott is indicative of this interest. He was elected associate of the Royal Academy in 1885 and became a full member ten years later. He was to have submitted his painting A Mermaid as his diploma work for the Royal Academy, but as it took him awhile to complete, he ended up submitting an 1889 version of Ophelia.
In addition to his interests in Arthurian and Shakespearean characters, Waterhouse also did a series on Persephone between 1908 and 1914.
He died of cancer in 1917, leaving behind a large body of work. His paintings and sketches continue to amaze and inspire countless art and literature buffs.
