The Lady of Shalott, 1888
London, England
This version of the Lady of Shalott is arguably J.W. Waterhouse's most famous work. It is often found on the cover of Pre-Raphaelite books, even though he never considered himself one. In J.W. Waterhouse Anthony Hobson sets the record straight, classifying Waterhouse as a Romantic Classicist. This painting is also widely popular due to English textbooks. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott is about a mysterious woman who spends her days in a tower. Held to the tower by a curse, she can only see the outside world with the aid of a mirror and weaves the reflections into a beautiful tapestry. She cares little for the curse until two newly wed lovers walk past her mirror. The Lady of Shalott becomes lonely and can no longer accept the mirror's reflections when Lancelot walks by. As she stands to see him with her own eyes, the mirror cracks. The curse comes upon her fully, and in a trance like state she climbs into a boat and sails down to Camelot. Unfortunately, by the time she reaches Camelot she is dead, and nobody knows her. Waterhouse captures her mystical despair perfectly. His wife is said to have been the model.
