Waterhouse Images

I found some images by John William Waterhouse, an English painter who was inspired by Greek mythology in addition to Shakespeare's plays. He painted numerous historical, classical, and literary subjects in his lifetime. Waterhouse, or "Nino" as he was nicknamed, was born in 1849 in Rome. He was raised in an artistic family and is known for borrowing styles from the Pre-Raphaelites and Impressionists. He received training from the Royal Academy and died in 1917 from cancer. 

  1897

This is one of his works of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and Spring. Earlier in one of my posts, I compared several characters to the seasons. Perdita in The Winter's Tale resembles a flower, and represents Spring time. While her father can embody the coldness of winter (with his heartless acts), Perdita represents change with the promise of hope and Spring. Florizel himself even compares Perdita to Flora when he says,

"These your unusual weeds to each part of you 

                                                Do give a life: no shepherdess, but Flora 
                                                Peering in April's front. This your sheep-shearing    
                                               Is as a meeting of the petty gods,   
                                                And you the queen on't."

Are there any other similarities that you can find between Perdita and Flora? In other words, in the Perdita-visual that you have imagined (from your interpretation of the reading), does it come close to this painting of Flora? Can you truly see a Perdita in this image? 

Oil on Canvas 1916

"O, wonder!

                                                                     How many goodly creatures are there here!
                                                                    How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
                                                                   That has such people in't!"
                                                                                                  Miranda
                                                                                   The Tempest Act V, Scene I

This is an image of Miranda. JW Waterhouse created numerous variations of Miranda at the beginning and end of his career. This representation of her differs from the image that I have created in my mind. I pictured her  to be younger and not so elegant-like. She seems so preserved, mature, and wise in this interpretation. I wonder, what are your interpretations of this image and do they differ from your visual interpretation of Miranda? 

Note: I can't help but feel that this image is more "waiting for her husband  lost at sea" than a look of one who is more worried about strangers on a ship. It brings an entirely different story into my mind. 

Since we're going to be reading Hamlet, I thought that it would be a nice idea to put up an image or two of Ophelia. Similar to the image of Flora/Perdita, Ophelia is surrounded by a bunch of flowers and is very posed-like. Waterhouse created numerous images of Ophelia during his career.

The entry in Academy Notes for 1889 reads:

"Ophelia lying in the grass, with the wild flowers she has gathered in the folds of her dress. In one hand she holds a bunch of buttercups; in her rich brown hair, which half hides her face, is a coronet of daisies; in the background through the willow-stems a stream winds, and swallows fly low in the air (no sketch received)."

So, what do you think the story is about just by looking at this image? What attitude or tone does this image suggest concerning the play? 

 1894

Here's another famous image of Ophelia by Waterhouse.