His education should furnish him with whole galleries of mental pictures, pictures by great artists old and new;––…–– in fact, every child should leave school with at least a couple of hundred pictures by great masters hanging permanently in the halls of his imagination, to say nothing of great buildings, sculpture, beauty of form and colour in things he sees. Perhaps we might secure at least a hundred lovely landscapes too,––sunsets, cloudscapes, starlight nights. At any rate he should go forth well furnished because imagination has the property of magical expansion, the more it holds the more it will hold.
Charlotte Mason (Philosphy of Education, p. 43)
This is one of my favorite quotes about picture study from Ms. Mason’s volumes. That last line, “…imagination has the property of magical expansion, the more it holds the more it will hold,” especially stuck with me the first time I read it. Picture study not only informs our sense of beauty, exposes us to living ideas, and improves our powers of observation, but it also allows us to exercise the muscles of our imagination. As with a worthy book, each image has the power to transport us from our everyday lives to somewhere else. We can experience significant events in history, peer into the faces of famous (and not-so-famous) people of the past, or dive into mythology and ancient stories, seeing the characters in living color.
One of the best examples of the last category is the English painter John William Waterhouse. He is usually associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, though he was only four years old when the original group of Pre-Raphaelite painters disbanded. Through his art, he explored literary subjects that included Arthurian legend (including what is probably his most well-known piece, “The Lady of Shalott”), Greek tales, and Roman history. His Academic style was clear and vibrant, with vivid colors that allowed the scenes to come to life. As such, he is an excellent option for picture study!
John William Waterhouse Picture Study Video
Recently, I had the privilege of leading a picture study session with Adrienne Freas on the Classical Education Podcast. During the interview, we studied “The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius,” one of my favorites of Waterhouse’s work. You can watch it at the link below!
If you’d like to include John William Waterhouse in your own picture study time, I have a Picture Study Aid and professional art prints covering his work in my shop! As I mentioned in the video, these guides include basic information about the artist and ready answers should any questions arise during your study of each piece. You can read more about all of the Picture Study Aids I offer here!
The post John William Waterhouse Picture Study Video Session appeared first on a humble place.