Defining Beauty: J.W. Waterhouse

There has been much interest over the years in the models John William Waterhouse used for his paintings. It is most likely that his fans are enthralled by the Waterhouse ideal- the certain, repeated, recognizable qualities which the artist imposed upon his characterization of the models- and the romance with which he portrayed them. He was not a representational artist, but one who had a personal concept of beauty, and an idiosyncratic formula for rendering his female subjects.

However much Waterhouse modified the features of his models, he was still likely to choose a sitter who naturally came closest to his archetype. It is interesting to note, therefore, that, in a 1908 poll conducted in The Strand Magazine, four other artists with very differing styles from Waterhouse all preferred the looks of the same model from a collection of eight photographs.

Artists and Beauty: The Opinion of Eminent Painters

The beauty of women appeals to all men, but not to all men alike; and artists, particularly those who have devoted themselves to the limning of the human figure, are supposed to have strongly pronounced preferences of their own. With a view of putting these preferences to the test, we have submitted a selection of beautiful women of to-day to a number of representative figure painters. The result is indicated in the following pages.

Fildes

Hacker

Shaw

Collier

One of these photographs, which we have numbered "3", is awarded the palm by no fewer than five artists, these being Sir Luke Fildes, R.A., Mr. J.W. Waterhouse, R.A., Mr. Arthur Hacker, A.R.A., the Hon. John Collier, and Mr. Byam Shaw. The one point on which all these authorities agreed was the beauty of the lady's eyes.

Image #3

"If I had to select one of these ladies," said Mr. Waterhouse, "as a model for painting, I should have no hesitation about my choice. The lady of my preference, indeed, reminds me very much of one of my models. After she had been sitting to me for some time she went on the stage, and succeeding in obtaining fairly important parts, she naturally did not care to resume her former profession, and for some time I have lost sight of her. She sat only for the face. The face, as in this photograph, is so singularly beautiful that I was very sorry to lose the opportunity of painting it, and I have written once or twice lately to the lady's old address but without obtaining a reply."¹

... many artists have recorded how impossible they have found the search for any one model to embody all the graces and charms of womanhood as they exist in the ideal woman of their imagination. A painter has this among other advantages over the photographer- that he can quite conveniently produce his picture from several models. The photographer, in the production of his picture, is limited by the mechanical action of the camera to one. To him may, therefore, well be denied that presentiment of a perfect vision of loveliness which becomes almost a commonplace achievement on the part of the painter.²

The site www.johnwilliamwaterhouse.com, which is an excellent source of information on the artist, has a wonderful article on Waterhouse's models written by Cathy Baker. The full article about "Artists and Beauty" in The Strand can be found at Googlebooks.

¹ George Newnes, editor, "Artists and Beauty: The Opinions of Eminent Painters," The Strand Magazine, vol. 35, January 1908, pp. 280-290. Retrieved January 1, 2010 from {www.johnwilliamwaterhouse.com/articles/strand-magazine-artists-beauty/}.

² George Newness, editor, "Artists and Beauty: The Opinions of Eminent Painters," The Strand Magazine, vol. 35, January 1908, pp. 289-290. Retrieved January 1, 2010 from {http://books.google.com/}.