Jose Mejia
Introduction to Art History II
March 24, 2016
Waterhouse: A Symbol of Victorian Art
Life is all about doing what we like and being happy. Taking advantage of our skills
is the clue for success. For some people art is more than a passion. Art is a way of life, like
it was for John William Waterhouse. This great British artist was born the in Rome, Italy on
April 6 in the year 1949. Although his family was native British, they were living during
his born period in Rome because of economic opportunities. Waterhouse was called as
¨Nino¨ since is the diminutive for Giovannino, the name how he was popularly known
during his childhood. In life, we are also marked since our early age from the things that
surround, but also from the education and activities that our parents influence us. This is
what happened to this great Victorian artist. From a family of artists he was mainly inspired
to the world of arts by his father. John William only lived in Rome for one year, since in the
1950´s his family moved back to England because of working opportunities. During his
early life, Waterhouse grew up learning from his father´s arts. He used to work with him in
his art studio and started developing his skills as an important painter for the future. He had
a basic standard school education, but his mind was always into his passion, what he breath
since he was born, the arts.
Waterhouse was totally supported by his father and he decided to live the rest of his
life towards art. In the year 1970, and after several tries, John William was finally accepted
in the Royal Academy Schools. With 20 years old, the man reached a huge goal for him,
since these was the best art academy in the country during these years. During the middles
1970´s he started to leave an impact in the media with his first paintings. After being
requested to exhibit his creations in several recognized art exhibitions in the country, he
started to get his first commissions for his professional creations. John William started to
travel a lot to Italy and other countries of Europe. After these trips he started to get an
identity in his paintings. The beauty of women mainly influenced him in his pieces.
Waterhouse definitely focused in watercolors oil paintings, with classical compositions,
