The Lady of Shalott
Artist: John William Waterhouse
Year Composed: 1888
Artistic Movement: Modernist
Nationality: United Kingdom
Floor Found in Château: Unknown Location
Year Composed: 1888
Artistic Movement: Modernist
Nationality: United Kingdom
Floor Found in Château: Unknown Location
About the Artwork
Drawn from an Alfred Lord Tennyson poem of the same name, John William Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott showcases the representation of Elaine of Astolat, a woman from Arthurian mythology who was in love with Lancelot. According to the narrative, Elaine was cursed to not go outside or even look outside a window. Here, Waterhouse shows her escaping that fate as she is seen sitting on the tapestry woven to assist in her escape, leading her to the docks and the boat that is now her ride to freedom and to her destiny.
About the Artist
Born in Rome, Italy, but later became a British citizen, John William Waterhouse was a Modernist painter and a member of a group known as the Pre-Raphaelites. This brotherhood sought to reverse the artistic movement of Mannerism (a movement after the Renaissance that was formed after the death of Raphael Sanzio) and draw its inspiration and aesthetics from the masters of the Renaissance. Waterhouse was known for composing Modern scenes that harked back to Greco-Roman and Arthurian mythologies, including his Miranda (1875), Ophelia (1889), and Ulysses and the Sirens (1891).
About the Movement
The Lady of Shalott was composed in the Modernist Age of art. Modernism was a philosophical movement that influenced art during the late stages of the 19th Century and into the 20th (or the later decades of the 1800s into the 1900s). Artists during this time rejected the religious and spiritual themes of the Enlightenment, and Modernists showcased rhetoric of modern society and industrialism. Some of the most famous Modernist artists included Henri Matisse, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Location of Original Work of Art: Tate Museum, London, United Kingdom
Drawn from an Alfred Lord Tennyson poem of the same name, John William Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott showcases the representation of Elaine of Astolat, a woman from Arthurian mythology who was in love with Lancelot. According to the narrative, Elaine was cursed to not go outside or even look outside a window. Here, Waterhouse shows her escaping that fate as she is seen sitting on the tapestry woven to assist in her escape, leading her to the docks and the boat that is now her ride to freedom and to her destiny.
About the Artist
Born in Rome, Italy, but later became a British citizen, John William Waterhouse was a Modernist painter and a member of a group known as the Pre-Raphaelites. This brotherhood sought to reverse the artistic movement of Mannerism (a movement after the Renaissance that was formed after the death of Raphael Sanzio) and draw its inspiration and aesthetics from the masters of the Renaissance. Waterhouse was known for composing Modern scenes that harked back to Greco-Roman and Arthurian mythologies, including his Miranda (1875), Ophelia (1889), and Ulysses and the Sirens (1891).
About the Movement
The Lady of Shalott was composed in the Modernist Age of art. Modernism was a philosophical movement that influenced art during the late stages of the 19th Century and into the 20th (or the later decades of the 1800s into the 1900s). Artists during this time rejected the religious and spiritual themes of the Enlightenment, and Modernists showcased rhetoric of modern society and industrialism. Some of the most famous Modernist artists included Henri Matisse, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Location of Original Work of Art: Tate Museum, London, United Kingdom