Tristan and Isolde by John William Waterhouse

Tristan and Isolde with the Potion by John William Waterhouse, oil on canvas c. 1911, depicts the hero of Arthurian legend and knight of the Round Table with the damsel Isolde (Iseult). King Mark of Cornwall sent Tristan to escort the king’s bride home, but Tristan and Isolde took a magic potion that made the characters fall hopelessly in love, leading to great tragedy in the land of Camelot. Waterhouse paints the scene in brilliant, bold colors in a painterly, near Impressionist manner, imbuing a mythic, fairy tale quality to the knight in armor and lady who have boarded their ship. 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.