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Artistic analysis
Ovid’s poem “Echo and Narcissus'' is a long, well known story, becoming the subject of many paintings throughout history. This specific oil painting of Echo and Narcissus was created by John William Waterhouse in 1903. Waterhouse was born in Rome in 1849 and returned to the city many times throughout his career, heavily influencing his painting style and genre. Along with the environmental influence, Waterhouse also grew up with a father who worked as a painter whom he often assisted in the studio. Waterhouse’s “Echo and Narcissus” follows a “neo-classic, romantic realism” style that also shows up in a lot of his other paintings, such as in “Ulysses and the Sirens,” “Pandora,” “Hylas and the Nymphs,” and many more.
In this painting, one can see Narcissus leaning over a pond, staring at his reflection while Echo sits nearby, watching him. The painting is very similar to how I would have imagined Ovid’s poem, with how the setting is laid out; however one key difference between the story and the painting is the representation of Echo. In Ovid’s poem, after Echo is rejected by Narcissus, she suffers and withers away in the caves and forests until her bones turn into stone and she is nothing more than a voice that lurks in the woods; nobody can see her but everyone can hear her as her voice still lives. However, in Waterhouse’s painting Echo has a physical, visual form which is in place of her lone voice in the story. This may be because it would be hard to represent her in the painting if she is just an “echo” since you cannot hear the artwork, but with the physical representation, we are able to see what she sees and feel what Echo feels too. You can see how wistfully she looks at Narcissus and how she longs for him. The painting is very detailed, and you can see her eyes display sadness which makes the viewers feel the pain and loneliness that Echo feels since she knows her love for Narcissus is only one sided.
Along with his neo-classical style, Waterhouse also adopted a theme of “tragic or powerful femme fatal” in some of his artwork. The dictionary definition of “femme fatale” is “an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who will ultimately bring disaster to a man who becomes involved with her.” The painting “Echo and Narcissus” may also put Echo in a position of being a femme fatale, differing from Ovid’s poem that puts her more in an innocent and naive perspective. In the painting, Echo is exposing her breast to Narcissus which could be seen as a method of seduction, making her once wistful look seem more lustful as an attempt to attract Narcissus.
In this painting, one can see Narcissus leaning over a pond, staring at his reflection while Echo sits nearby, watching him. The painting is very similar to how I would have imagined Ovid’s poem, with how the setting is laid out; however one key difference between the story and the painting is the representation of Echo. In Ovid’s poem, after Echo is rejected by Narcissus, she suffers and withers away in the caves and forests until her bones turn into stone and she is nothing more than a voice that lurks in the woods; nobody can see her but everyone can hear her as her voice still lives. However, in Waterhouse’s painting Echo has a physical, visual form which is in place of her lone voice in the story. This may be because it would be hard to represent her in the painting if she is just an “echo” since you cannot hear the artwork, but with the physical representation, we are able to see what she sees and feel what Echo feels too. You can see how wistfully she looks at Narcissus and how she longs for him. The painting is very detailed, and you can see her eyes display sadness which makes the viewers feel the pain and loneliness that Echo feels since she knows her love for Narcissus is only one sided.
Along with his neo-classical style, Waterhouse also adopted a theme of “tragic or powerful femme fatal” in some of his artwork. The dictionary definition of “femme fatale” is “an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who will ultimately bring disaster to a man who becomes involved with her.” The painting “Echo and Narcissus” may also put Echo in a position of being a femme fatale, differing from Ovid’s poem that puts her more in an innocent and naive perspective. In the painting, Echo is exposing her breast to Narcissus which could be seen as a method of seduction, making her once wistful look seem more lustful as an attempt to attract Narcissus.