joh nwillima waterhouse the magic circle

A live snake ouroboros loops around the woman's neck.

Instead of billowing outwards or being affected by the wind, it remains in a straight line. The witch's power is emphasised by the determined face, by her exclusion of the ravens and frog – popular symbols representing magic – and by her command over the smoke pillar. Waterhouse paid careful attention to the angles employed in this work, balancing the circle the figure is drawing around herself by the use of a triangle – her straight arm, extended by the straight stick, held out at 25 degrees to her erect body. The surrounding landscape is hazy, as though it is not quite real, and the background figures are only discernible on close inspection, deliberately ensuring the witch is the only image of importance. In a style typical of Waterhouse, the main character is a lone, female figure, placed centrally on the canvas. The painting was extremely successful with the critics and public alike.

The painting was well received at its exhibition, and was purchased for £650 the same year by the Tate Gallery, through the Chantrey Bequest.

Eulalia, was Waterhouse's third exhibit with a supernatural theme in as many years. The Magic Circle was shown at the Royal Academy in 1886, and, after Consulting the Oracle and St. The painting depicts a witch or sorceress drawing a fiery magic circle on the earth to create a ritual space. The Magic Circle is an oil painting in the Pre-Raphaelite style, created in 1886 by John William Waterhouse.

Joh nwillima waterhouse the magic circle