joh nwillima waterhouse the magic circle

In a style typical of Waterhouse, the main character is a lone, female figure, placed centrally on the canvas. The Magic Circle was on display at the National Gallery of Australia as part of the Love and Desire exhibition (December 2018 – April 2019). He initially sketched the composition in a sepia pen and ink version in 1880–1881. 1886 study for The Magic Circle, 61.5 cm (24.2 in) high and 41.2 cm (16.2 in) wide, also held by a private collector. The smaller 1886 version of The Magic Circle measures 88 cm (34.6 in) high and 60 cm (23.6 in) wide.

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, this was Waterhouse's third exhibit with a supernatural theme in as many years. Coming after Consulting the Oracle and St. The larger prime version of The Magic Circle was shown at the Royal Academy in 1886, the year after Waterhouse was elected an Associate member. As was common in the period, Waterhouse repeated his subject on a smaller scale, probably at the request of a collector. The paintings and a study depict a witch or sorceress using a wand to draw a fiery magic circle on the Earth to create a ritual space for her ceremonial magic.

The Magic Circle is the name of two 1886 oil paintings in the Pre-Raphaelite style by John William Waterhouse.

Joh nwillima waterhouse the magic circle