"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper." - W. B. Yeats

John William Waterhouse was an English painter of the Victorian era. He was born in Rome to English artist parents and moved to London as a child, where he studied at the Royal Academy. He began his career as a sculptor but soon turned to painting, finding his artistic voice in classical mythology, medieval legends, and literary narratives.

Waterhouse is often associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, although he belonged to a younger generation. His paintings are characterized by luminous colors, dramatic lighting, and enigmatic female figures inspired by the works of Shakespeare, Tennyson, Keats, and Greek mythology. Among his best-known works are The Lady of Shalott, Hylas and the Nymphs, Ophelia, and The Magic Circle.

He was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1895 and continued painting in his romantic style even as Modernism came to dominate the art world. Waterhouse died of cancer in 1917 at the age of 68. After a period of relative obscurity, his work was rediscovered in the late twentieth century, and today he is regarded as one of the most beloved painters of the Victorian period.