Waterhouse and Honorius

[moonmoth]

An exhibition of paintings by J W Waterhouse has just finished at the Royal Academy in London.  He painted several ancient Roman scenes in a romantic style.  Among the paintings on show was "The Favourite of the Emperor Honorius."  I am sure it will be known to many of you, but it is a different thing to see it in front of you, full size. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_William_Waterhouse_-_The_Favorites_of_the_Emperor_Honorius_-_1883.jpg


This, of course, was the emperor who presided over the fall of Rome to the Visigoths.  There is a story, not likely true, that when told that Rome had fallen, he thought he was being told about the death of his favourite bird (which he had called Roma) and was distraught - until he learned the truth.  This painting is probably based on that tale.

It's interesting to see these interpretations of the Roman empire (in this case, Ravenna). Here's another that was in the exhibition: A Sick Child brought into the Temple of Aesculapius.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TempleofAesculapiusWaterhouse.jpg

(He clearly liked putting tripods into his scenes.) 

It's an odd sensation to see the distinctive style of the time they were painted overlaying the images of the past.

Bill

[Enodia]

an interesting painting, both in subject matter and style.

the lighting seems more in the style of Alma-Tadema, or (later) Parrish. a beautiful scene none the less, and thank you for posting it here moonmoth. i only wish i could be in London to see the entire exhibit!

~ Peter

[wandigeaux (1940 - 2010)]

By the way, who came first, Waterhouse or Alma Tadema (i.e., made this type of subject and style popular)?  George S.

[Enodia]

they were roughly contemporaries, both being post PRB. but i seem to recall having read somewhere that Waterhouse claimed Alma-Tadema as an influence.
however i think we have to go back a few decades to find the artists who really made this naturalistic style popular, ie; the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (Rosetti, Burne-Jones, etc).

~ Peter

[commodus]

Actually, Waterhouse is considered a Pre-Raphaelite, though he was indeed post-PRB. He lived from 1849 to 1917 and considered Alma-Tadema to be a major influence. Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) was, in turn, influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement, though never himself was part of it, as such.

[Enodia]

very true. it would be hard to separate Waterhouse from the pre-Raphaelite movement, however he was never a member of the Brotherhood, which i believe was already dissolved before he hit the scene.
and although Alma-Tadema was slightly older, his style always strikes me as being later, post Victorian. it is very difficult to look at one of his paintings and not see the influence on Maxfield Parrish.
but of the lot i think Waterhouse is my favorite.

so does anyone remember Dante Gabriel Rosetti's sister Christina's 'Goblin Market'? although a very conservative old spinster this poem was quite 'hot' for its' day.

~ Peter

[moonmoth]

"Goblin Market" is a terrific poem.  My sister made sure to read it to her girls before they were old enough to see any sexual implications in it!

Alma-Tadema had the reputation of being a soft porn artist for the gentry of his time when I was young.  That's not entirely fair, though he did have a high nipple count in those of his paintings which were popular at the time. 

He painted another scandalous (but nipple-free) tale of a Roman emperor, "The Roses of Heliogabalus":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Roses_of_Heliogabalus.jpg

Elagabalus trying to smother unsuspecting guests with rose petals released from the ceiling.  Again, not likely true, though, of course, you don't have to go far to find scandalous tales about that particular emperor.

Bill

[gallienus1]

Bill, thank you so much for posting paintings by J W Waterhouse and Alma-Tadema.
I know Victorian painting generally and the Pre-Raphaelites in particular are way out of fashion with the art establishment, but that has not stopped their work from being continually enjoyed by the public. (I sometimes think art critics only like works they know the public will hate)

Alma-Tadema’s The Roses of Heliogabalus has an interesting story attached to it that shows the extent a Victorian painter would go to for accuracy. While he painted the work over a cold British winter he was worried that he would not be able to catch all the nuanced delicacy of rose petals without living examples to act as models. So he had large amounts of roses sent to him by train and steamship from the French Riviera while he worked.

An interesting book for lovers of Alma-Tadema is The Athens of Alma-Tadema by Professor Richard Tomlinson. It has wonderful photos of Athens from the great artist’s reference collection, which show the beauty and dignity of the ancient ruins and the landscape that so inspired Alma-Tadema, now for the most part sadly lost.

My favorite work of his can be found at The Sterling and Francine Clark Museum. Williamstown, Massachusetts and is called The Women of Amphissa. It relates to a real event. In 350 B.C. the women of Amphissa, worried that soldiers from Phocis who were occupying the area would take advantage of the young women bacchantes after they collapsed with exhaustion after their religious frenzy, surrounded them during the night to keep the soldiers away. Alma-Tadema shows the scene the next morning as the dazed bacchantes slowly wake and meet their protectors who have food and drink ready for them. The work has a gentle and sincere humanity about it that is deeply moving.

Regards,
Steve

[moonmoth]

I like romantic narrative imagery as long as it doesn't degenerate into chocolate-boxiness. 

The bacchantes, though, well, given the nature of the religious frenzies of the followers of Bacchus/Dionysos, I think that just keeping them apart from males would have been a good idea, without worrying about who was being protected.

Bill

[PeterD]

For images of paintings of just about every artist that ever lived, I recomend taking a look at http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/contents.asp All pictures are downloadable and some are in high-resolution if you happen to have large format printer around (as I do!).

Many entries have a comprehensive biography of the painter and also an account of individual paintings. Waterhouse and Alma-Tadema are well represented.

[moonmoth]

Lots of choice, but I am not convinced about the quality.  Compare the Honorius painting:

http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=799

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_William_Waterhouse_-_The_Favorites_of_the_Emperor_Honorius_-_1883.jpg

The Wikipedia version is smaller, but the colours are right and you can see a lot more detail.  The artrenewal version is muddy and has entirely the wrong colours.

Others are not so bad - this Circe, for example is about right.

http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=9651

Bill

[Enodia]

yes, i think that one is my favorite Waterhouse. i love the way he depicts Odysseus in the reflection.

[moonmoth]

It was in the exhibition - as was his "Circe poisoning the sea."

From the arc-store site comes this interesting painting by Alma-Tadema, "The Colosseum":

http://www.arc-store.com/13454.html

Interesting in that it depicts the shading devices around the amphitheatre, the details of which are not known today, though the holes for those uprights are visible.

Bill