Book Description

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) is one of the most enduringly popular of the Victorian artists, and paintings such as The Lady of Shalott, Hylas and the Nymphs and Ophelia have become icons recognized the world over. With their compelling composition and glowing colour, these paintings are admired for their beauty and for their power to transport the viewer into a romantic world of myth and legend. At the same time, Waterhouse's wistful heroines also reflect the troubled attitudes of nineteenth-century male artists towards women.

In this carefully researched new study, Peter Trippi presents a fresh and absorbing analysis of the artist's seductresses, martyrs and nymphs, and the cultural and historical circumstances in which they were produced. He also utilizes new research to provide an accessible biography of the artist. Themes explored include Waterhouse's passion for Italy, literature and the classical world, the role of the Royal Academy in his life, his stylistic influences and studio practice, and his relations with collectors, dealers, critics and curators.

Neglected throughout much of the twentieth century, Waterhouse has enjoyed a dramatic revival of fortune. Peter Trippi's monograph provides a timely re-evaluation that combines a close reading of Waterhouse's imagery with a candid appraisal of the milieu in which he worked.

Peter Trippi studied at New York University and the Courtauld Institute, London, and is currently Vice Director for Development at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Unsurpassed!
This book is a detailed chronicle of Waterhouse's life and many of his important works. The paintings are lavishly reproduced in large formats. It will satisfy the most demanding reader.

I loaned out this book from a library with the intention of scanning a few good pictures to learn from. I ended up marking up for scanning dozens of them that were too good to pass up. So I decide to purchase my own copy of the book instead.

If you are artistically oriented, this book will give you hours and hours of enjoyment, and if you spend time to read the text, which is well researched, well written and prodigiously informative, you will as soon become an authority of sorts on J. W. Waterhouse.

Great Book on Waterhouse!
If you have any interest into the life and work of J.W.Waterhouse this is a fantastic book - the pictures are simply stunning and the author has an obvious love for the subject - I was very pleased with the book and would encourage anyone to purchase it. :)

A book fullfills the art.
This has to be the best book yet on the works of Waterhouse. Its got historic facts and stories about his young life to a successful artist in Britain. The author goes in depth about concepts and theories of how Waterhouse think in terms of painting and storytelling. It also talks about the other Pre-Raphealists that lived at the same time as Waterhouse; their influence and relationship to him. What I love about the most is the high quality of the prints. The book is big in scale and the prints are marvelous in fullfilling the space.
If you like Waterhouse or Pre-Rapheal artworks this is one book that you won't want to miss.

Awesome photo's of the original pieces
This book is very well illustrated. You can learn to sense/feel what J.W. was feeling at the time of the painting. He poured all of his emotion onto the canvas and you can actually get a sense of that just from this book. I would definately recommend it to everyone!

Best Waterhouse Book Ever!!
This is the best J.W. Waterhouse book ever published. It's filled with tons of big color photos and information. I recommend this book to everybody who loves him. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Don't get this one for the reproductions
I think I made a mistake when ordering and accidentally got this book instead of Trippi's hardcover. The narrative is interesting and insightful, but the reproductions are an outrage. Black and white for Circe Ividiosa and for (gasp) THE MAGIC CIRCLE??? Come on! Black and white should only be used to make a point about light and shade or for lesser works and studies. But there are several masterworks reproduced in B/W in this book. Also, the color reproductions are lousy as well. 3 stars overall out of respect for the author, but 1 star for the plates.

A well written introduction to Waterhouse
I find Waterhouse the greatest of the late 19th-century British painters. His women are full of life. He was a master at capturing the slightest expression to convey the personalities of his models. His compositions are superb. Paintings such as the 1888 "The Lady of Shalott" and the 1894 treatment of the same subject are as powerful as they are beautiful.

Hobson makes his admiration of Waterhouse's paintings obvious. This makes the book a very enjoyable read. It is a wonderful introduction to Waterhouse's work. Hobson spends a lot of time discussing paintings--this is something that is too often forgotten in art history texts. He identifies aspects of Waterhouse's compositions that help make his paintings outstanding. He describes the literary sources of Waterhouse's subjects. He mentions the artists who influenced Waterhouse's style. The essays are clear and well-organized. Anyone who is interested in Waterhouse's work should read this book.

Waterhouse: An Artist's Artist
During my education and professional life as an artist and professor of art the work of the Pre-Raphaelites and their contemporaries especially Waterhouse was/is extremely appealing and inspirational to me and many of my peers who are painters or illustrators. His work is among the best of his and any era since. The lavish reproductions in this book do homage to the wonderful God-given ability of the artist. Waterhouse's nymphs, faeries and women are innocent, gorgeous, and fetching, his colors deep, dark and lush, his men heroic and altruistic. If you love PreRaphaelite era art, Romanticism, mythical stories skillfully representated in figure art, this is the book for you. Though I bought the book for the reproductions, I recently read the text and found it helpful.

A must-have book for Waterhouse fans!
I discovered the work of Waterhouse fairly recently at anexhibition of art in Seattle of paintings from England's RoyalAcademy. I fell in love with his work instantly, started looking for websites about him & stumbled across a website bearing his name which recommended this book. Needless to say I purchased it instantly. I agree with the previous reviewer that it is a shame about the b/w reproductions (many of them are reproduced in color on the website mentioned above), but it is more than made up for with the wonderful research that Anthony Hobson had done (I have found out that sadly he died in late 1999). To sum up: a wonderful introduction to the work and life of John William Waterhouse, a timeless master among British artists!

Nice to own
A nice book to own indeed, enjoyed the lively commentary on the artist - not the usual very dry stuff. However, could just sob with despair at the black and white reproductions, some of which are not in colour anywhere in the book. Perhaps considered less important than some of his contemporaries? Maybe that's why the book is not as sumptuous as one's on Burne-Jones, Alma-Tadema etc. If you are a Waterhouse fan, buy it! ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Cineaste Publishers, Inc. on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1210 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Billy Liar. (Home Video). (movie review)
Author: Leonard Quart
Publication: Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
Volume: 27Issue: 3Page: 47(3)

Article Type: Movie Review

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