Boreas is the name given by Ovidius to the cold northern wind. He can be seen in this painting only by the trees and clothes bending by his force. The woman that he is trying to catch is the Athenian princess, Oreithyia, who first declined his courtship, but cannot resist his brute power. She became later the goddess of mountain winds.
This painting is even more powerful than the earlier “Windflowers” due to the use of cold colours and the protective position of the arms of the woman. Waterhouse also made a beautiful chalk drawing that is nowadays almost as popular as this painting.
