Sundays Art: Pre-Raphaelites Miranda: The Tempest 1916

John William Waterhouse 1849-1917

This is one of Waterhouse's last pieces completed just a year before his passing. Shakespeare's The Tempest was the written inspiration behind the piece. Despite its late date, this picture shows a strong Pre-Rapaelite influence. Miranda's stance, clothing, skin, and hair are all redolent of an early Burne-Jones or Millais.

Waterhouse chose to illustrate the following lines of Miranda's speech:
O, I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer! A brave vessel,
Who had no doubt some noble creature in her,
Dash'd all to pieces! O, the cry did knock
Against my very heart.

Miranda is depicted holding her left hand to her heart, reflecting the pain she expresses in the words. Although the viewer can see little of her features, her anguish is portrayed cleverly by the manner in which Waterhouse etched the profile of her face.