Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Painter
John William Waterhouse
John William Waterhouse was a British painter associated with the later Pre-Raphaelite style, known for mythological women, literary scenes, and richly detailed oil paintings.
John William Waterhouse quick facts
Waterhouse trained within the Royal Academy tradition and later embraced subjects and atmosphere associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, without belonging to the 1848 Brotherhood.
| Born | 1849 · Rome, Roman Republic (now Italy) |
|---|---|
| Died | 1917 · London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Movements | Later Pre-Raphaelite influence; Victorian academic painting |
| Paint types | Oil Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas |
| Painting methods | Carefully posed figures, layered oil color, closely studied fabrics and plants, dramatic compositions, and atmospheric passages of light |
| Common subjects | Women from ancient myth, Tennyson's poetry, Circe, mermaids, Arthurian legends, and imagined historic scenes |
| Notable works | The Lady of Shalott · Circe Invidiosa · Hylas and the Nymphs · The Magic Circle |
| Movement distinction | Born in 1849, Waterhouse was not a founding member of the Brotherhood, which formed in 1848. |
Sources: Tate: The Lady of Shalott, oil on canvas, Art Gallery of South Australia: Circe Invidiosa, oil on canvas, Art Gallery of South Australia: Waterhouse and classical stories.
Paint types used
Tate documents The Lady of Shalott as oil on canvas, while the Art Gallery of South Australia catalogs Circe Invidiosa in the same medium.
Surface types used
Canvas is documented for the large narrative paintings The Lady of Shalott and Circe Invidiosa.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Painters similar to John William Waterhouse
Burne-Jones and Rossetti also drew on medieval and legendary subjects, though Waterhouse developed his style later and outside the founding circle.
Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones was a British Pre-Raphaelite-associated painter whose dreamlike medieval scenes, elongated figures, and rich colors shaped late Victorian art.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet whose luminous portraits, medieval subjects, and symbolic colors helped shape Victorian art.