Customer Reviews

J W Waterhouse

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

Anthony Hobson was my father and I watched as he researched, visited, photographed, wrote and re-wrote the text for this book. It was a labour of love, bringing to the fore an artist who had been deeply unfashionable for many years - out of step with the tastes of the intervening times.
His writing style was characterised by a passionionate, often wryly humourous but always very readable style.
His research discovered and brought to the public eye, paintings that hadn't been seen for a generation, paintings found in lofts and attics, and in private family collections. He met an elderly lady who had sat for Waterhouse when she was a child and recorded her memories of this event in her young life.
Along side the personal aspect of the work runs the academic thread of rigorous research into the literary themes that underpin so much of Waterhouses paintings, and the placing of all of this in context with other artists of the period and before.
My father fell in love with the sumptuous beauty and incredible technical skill of Waterhouses work. He was very aware of the power of images and spent a great deal of time working on the reproductions included in the book. What you have to realise is that this was the best that could be done at the time. Colour printing has moved on enormously since this book was published. The costs and quality are at vastly different levels to those available to authors today. He would be the first one to say that ANY black and white reproduction of this artists work could never remotely do them justice, but he worked with what was do-able and in giving a glimpse of long unappreciated paintings, he was able to start an army of fans on their way to a well-deserved re-assessment of Waterhouse.

If you're looking for a brief intro into who Waterhouse was and his paintings, then this book is for you. If however, you want to see his paintings in color and larger sizes, then do not get this book. This book is an overview of Waterhouse's life and paintings, not the complete story. For the complete story and paintings, buy Trippi's book instead.

The text is laid out well and in sequence of Waterhouse's life. I found myself compelled to read the entire book in a short time.

There are some color pictures, but they are not as vibrant as the Trippi book. Many of the pictures are black and white and some are quite small, fitting into the margins. It was frustrating to see the b&W pictures and to try to imagine what they were really supposed to look like. But if all you want is an overview and a sampling of Waterhouse's art, then this book may be more manageable than Trippi's.

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!

Anthony Hobson is so enamored with J.W. Waterhouse that he published a second book about the artist. If you are a fan, this is very good news! There are many paintings here that one may never have seen before, but alas there are also many that are not featured. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful book to give or to receive. There is also a "mini-biography" throughout that adds to the enjoyment of this art book.

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 represented 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 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!

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.

Anthony Hobson has gathered together a lovely collection of paintings and studies by one of the foremost academic painters of the latter half of the nineteenth century. This glimpse at the sensuous and compelling work of Waterhouse, draws you into a bygone world of story-telling and visual richness. His evocative paintings summon up legendary stories and myths with a deftness that is masterfully served by his painting abilities. Upon encountering this book, I made a point of seeing his "Lady of Shalott" at the Tate, and have since revisited this book often.

It was not the book of paintings I had hoped for but these were very good.