JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE (1849-1917) Biography
PRE-RAPHAELITE (founded 1848) Biography

Literature

Anthony Hobson, John William Waterhouse, ( Phaidon, Oxford 1989 ), page 89, reproduced plate 70, page 98.

Description / Expertise

This picture, simple as it is, represents Waterhouse's vision of a female beauty. Anthony Hobson writes:
His models provide a theme of interest in themselves... the paintings show how as the years went by he continually sought his ideal vision of womanhood, rather than some character type adapted to each new distant ideal of Medieval Courtly love in the warmed mirrors of Italian passion and Greek sensuality.

A work such as this reveals Waterhouse's painterly technique. The background indicates how he stated the main lines of the composition boldly with the brush, without the aid of preliminary drawing. He then built up the surface of his painting to the degree of modelling and finish revealed in the girl's head.