Destiny by John William Waterhouse Square Sticker

Destiny by John William Waterhouse, oil on canvas 1900, depicts the figure of fate from ancient mythology as a young woman in red dress holding a blue bowl, possibly representing the goddess Tyche or Fortuna. Set in a fairy tale castle overlooking the sea, the subject stands amid a circular mirror reflecting ships sailing to sea and a globe, and a book. The wheel-like mirror, ships rudders, and bowl of Cornucopia are all traditional symbols of the goddess of Fate, who Waterhouse renders palpably with a sense of modern, painterly realism. John William Waterhouse (1849 - 1917) was an English painter of the Pre-Raphaelite school of the late 19th century. After studying at the British Royal Academy of Art, Waterhouse painted classical scenes from ancient Greek mythology, gradually acquiring the stylistic traits of the Pre-Raphaelites as well as the painterly qualities of the French Impressionists. Though overshadowed by the more famous members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Waterhouse exhibited with great success and produced many paintings with themes of female figures from mythology and the legends of King Arthur.