#hamadryad
A Hamadryade (1893), by J.W. Waterhouse
The painting shows a Hamadryade (a nymph living in a tree) spying on Pan while he plays a pan flute. Nature was idealized in the Romantic tradition and particularly the Symbolist movement used “pre-historic” images of a world full of mythical creatures. Arnold Böcklin is another typical example of such a Symbolist painter from Germany. Waterhouse however dared to go one step further by painting Pan as a young boy and the nymph fully naked. Only some leaves barely hide her vagina - the sexual connotation is obvious. The work bares resemblance to “A Naiad”, also painted in 1893 and described earlier in this blog.
In some of his early works, Waterhouse used peculiar compositions or formats and with this painting he used the same trick because it measures a height of 160 cm, while it is only 61 cm wide. The work was displayed in the Royal Art Academy in the same year of its painting.
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Phyllis and Demophoön (1905), by J.W. Waterhouse
Princess Phyllis was turned into an almond tree by the gods to punish Demophoön, who had broken his vow to marry her. Full of remorse, Demophoön caresses the tree that immediately starts to flower. Because Phyllis forgives him, their souls are reunited, but she does not regain her human body so their love remains spiritual.
Waterhouse had used the theme of bodies transforming into trees earlier in “A Hamadryad” (1893) and he will use it again in “Apollo and Daphne” (1908). The work was originally bought by the Henderson family, but its location was unknown for a long time, until it recently reappeared in a private collection.
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15 mai 2018.
Le brouillard est toujours là.
Errance dans la neige, sous la pluie.
La Forêt guérit.
Les Arbres réconfortent et écoutent.
Mousses et Lichens pansent les plaies.
Les effluves d'humus enveloppent les pensées.
Les gouttes de pluie les font ruisseler.
Retour à la Terre. Recours aux Forêt.
Je me sens dryade.
Je suis sans doute un peu fêlée.
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