Sleep and His Half-Brother Death
Painting by John William Waterhouse
| Sleep and His Half-Brother Death | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | John William Waterhouse |
| Year | 1874 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 70 cm × 91 cm (28 in × 36 in) |
Sleep and His Half-Brother Death is a painting by John William Waterhouse completed in 1874.[1]
Waterhouse's first Royal Academy exhibit (submitted from his father's house at 1 Scarsdale Villas),[2] it was painted after both his younger brothers died of tuberculosis.[3]
Hypnos and Thanatos
The painting itself is a reference to the Greek gods Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death) who, in the Greek mythology, were brothers. Despite their similar poses in the painting, the character in the foreground is bathed in light, while his brother is shrouded in darkness; the first therefore represents Sleep, the latter Death.[4] The personification of Sleep clasps poppies, symbolic of narcosis and dreamlike-states.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Sleep and his Half-brother Death". johnwilliamwaterhouse.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ Noakes, Aubrey. 2004. Waterhouse: John William Waterhouse. London: Chaucer Press. p. 23. ISBN 1-904449-39-5
- ^ Hobson, Anthony. 1989. J. W. Waterhouse. Oxford: Phaidon Christie's. pp. 20-21. ISBN 0-7148-8066-3
- ^ Kryger, Meir H. (2013). Atlas of Clinical Sleep Medicine: Expert Consult - Online. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-323-28917-7.
- ^ Krahn, Lois E.; Silber, Michael H.; Morgenthaler, Timothy I. (2010). Atlas of Sleep Medicine. CRC Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-84184-763-4.
- v
- t
- e
John William Waterhouse
- The Unwelcome Companion: A Street Scene in Cairo (1873)
- Sleep and His Half-Brother Death (1874)
- The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius (1883)
- Consulting the Oracle (1884)
- Saint Eulalia (1885)
- The Magic Circle (1886)
- The Lady of Shalott (1888)
- Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses (1891)
- Ulysses and the Sirens (1891)
- Circe Invidiosa (1892)
- The Lady of Shalott Looking at Lancelot (1894)
- Ophelia (1894)
- Hylas and the Nymphs (1896)
- Pandora (1896)
- Mariana in the South (1897)
- The Siren (c. 1900)
- The Crystal Ball (1902)
- Boreas (1903)
- Echo and Narcissus (1903)
- Jason and Medea (1907)
- Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May (1908)
- Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May (1909)
- The Sorceress (1915)
- I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Said the Lady of Shalott (1915)
- Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse (wife)
- Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Commons: John William Waterhouse
 | This article about a nineteenth-century painting is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
