J W Waterhouse Paperback – January 1, 1994

Although British painter John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was not a member of the original mid-nineteenth-century Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris et al.), his work was similar to theirs in some of its subject matter (Tennyson’s tragic Lady of Shalott, Ophelia, etc.) and its dreamy, romantic mood, so he is often grouped with them by art historians… not to mention modern makers of calendars and the like, who usually include Waterhouse paintings among groups of offerings labeled “Pre-Raphaelite.”Hobson strongly objects to this classification, pointing out features of Waterhouse’s art, such as his geometric grouping of figures, that would place him among Victorian classicists such as Frederick Leighton. I think he overstates the case, however; as Christopher Wood writes in The Pre-Raphaelites, Waterhouse fits equally well in both groups, being “perhaps the only artist to have successfully reconciled these two opposing forces in late Victorian art.” He may lean toward Italy in geometry, coloring, and an emphasis on Greek/Roman mythology, but the mood and appearance of his pictures are very similar to those of, for instance, the later Rossetti and Hunt.In any case, a book of Waterhouse’s art certainly belongs on the shelf of any fan of Pre-Raphaelite-style art, with its soft-focus portrayals of wistful, mesmerizing—and sometimes deadly—women (usually redheads) from myth and legend, and this is probably the only affordable one around. Hobson’s text is unexciting and tells very little about the artist’s personality or life, sticking mainly to analyzing the paintings; this may not be his fault, however, since Wood writes that “nothing is known of [Waterhouse’s] private life or his artistic beliefs.” Not all the features he mentions are visible in the illustrations, but the reproductions are of pretty good quality and give a good representation of Waterhouse’s style and subject matter.

The best paintings are mostly in black-and-white, Which I find disappointing. The ones in color are somewhat yellowed but not too bad It could be the age of the used book. That being said I wouldn't buy it brand new for that price is very high. If you are going to buy this, buy it used at a more reasonable price. I really enjoy the book.

I am so pleased with this book! Beautiful!!

If you're looking for a brief intro into who Waterhouse was and his paintings, then this book is for you. If however, you want to see his paintings in color and larger sizes, then do not get this book. This book is an overview of Waterhouse's life and paintings, not the complete story. For the complete story and paintings, buy Trippi's book instead.The text is laid out well and in sequence of Waterhouse's life. I found myself compelled to read the entire book in a short time.There are some color pictures, but they are not as vibrant as the Trippi book. Many of the pictures are black and white and some are quite small, fitting into the margins. It was frustrating to see the b&W pictures and to try to imagine what they were really supposed to look like. But if all you want is an overview and a sampling of Waterhouse's art, then this book may be more manageable than Trippi's.

If you’re looking for high quality and colorful images of Waterhouse’s work this is definitely NOT the book for you. About half of the images are black and white photos and the other color half are dull at best.

I adored this book in the mid-90’s, but lost it in a flood. After 20 years, I found it on here for my daughter’s research paper on Waterhouse. How wonderful it felt turning the pages once more in this lovely book!

Beautiful pictures beautiful book

It was not the book of paintings I had hoped for but these were very good.

If you like romanticism you will like this book clear and colourful images depicting scenes of women his paintings bring all of this to life wish there was more though.

My wife will love this book - as her birthday is not until June I can only affirm the quality of the book itself and await herdelighted response.From Anghared's husband.

really beautiful selection of Waterhouse's finest works

Great seller, would recommend.

Excellent