Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Chantrey Bequest
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/john-william-waterhouse-583" aria-label="More by John William Waterhouse" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">John William Waterhouse</a>
Magic Circle
Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1886
actions: postures and motions
adults
agriculture, gardening & fishing
animals: birds
animals: fish and aquatic life
animals: reptiles
beauty
cauldron
cave
cliff
dress: fantasy/fancy
emotions, concepts and ideas
exotic
fire, open
heating and lighting
kitchen
landscape
magic and occultism
magic circle
magic wand
natural phenomena
objects
people
raven
religion and belief
religious and ceremonial
sickle
smoke
snake
society
spell
standing
toad
universal concepts
witch
woman
<p>Miracles, magic and the power of prophecy are common themes in Waterhouse's art. More specifically, the notion of woman as enchantress is one that recurs in images such as <span>Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysees</span> (1891, Oldham Art Gallery) and <span>Hylas and the Nymphs</span> (1896, Manchester City Art Gallery). His oeuvre also includes a number of middle-eastern subjects, in which he drew on the work of contemporary artists such as J.F Lewis (1805-76) and Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), rather than on actual experience. This is one of Waterhouse's earlier works, and reflects his fascination with the exotic.</p>
painting oil paint canvas
17 December 2008 – 31 January 2010
2010-01-31
14 December 2008 – 3 May 2009
2009-05-03
2008-12-14
Groninger Museum (Groningen, The Netherlands)
http://www.groninger-museum.nl
23 June 2009 – 13 September 2009
2009-09-13
2009-06-23
Royal Academy of Arts (London, UK)
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk
1 October 2009 – 7 February 2010
2010-02-07
2009-10-01
Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (Montréal, Canada)
http://www.mmfa.qc.ca
2008-12-17
J.W. Waterhouse: The Modern Pre-Raphaelite
Loan-out
8 March 2011 – 12 June 2011
2011-06-12
8 March 2011 – 12 June 2011
2011-06-12
2011-03-08
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid, Spain)
8 March 2011 – 12 June 2011
2011-06-12
2011-03-08
Fundación Caja (Casa de las Alhajas) (Madrid, Spain)
2011-03-08
Heronies
Loan-out
15 September 2012 – 31 January 2013
2013-01-31
15 September 2012 – 31 January 2013
2013-01-31
2012-09-15
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Birmingham, UK)
http://www.bmag.org.uk
2012-09-15
Love and Death: Victorian Paintings from Tate
Loan-out
27 July 2013 – 11 January 2015
2015-01-11
27 July 2013 – 3 November 2013
2013-11-03
2013-07-27
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Edinburgh, UK)
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/
2013-07-27
Witches and Wicked Bodies
Loan-out
20 October 2017 – 27 March 2022
2022-03-27
20 October 2017 – 28 February 2018
2018-02-28
2017-10-20
British Library (London, UK)
11 September 2021 – 7 November 2021
2021-11-07
2021-09-11
Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art (Kobe, Japan)
18 December 2021 – 27 March 2022
2022-03-27
2021-12-18
Tokyo Station Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.ejrcf-or.jp- Art -
2017-10-20
Harry Potter: A History of Magic
Loan-out
14 December 2018 – 19 September 2021
2021-09-19
14 December 2018 – 28 April 2019
2019-04-28
2018-12-14
National Gallery of Australia (Canberra, Australia)
19 June 2019 – 6 October 2019
2019-10-06
2019-06-19
Palazzo Reale (Milan, Italy)
2018-12-14
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Tate partnerships & programmes
1 February 2026 – 30 June 2026
2026-06-30
1 February 2026 – 30 June 2026
2026-06-30
2026-02-01
Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung (Munich, Germany)
2026-02-01
THE POWER OF WOMEN. Artistic Imagination from Antiquity to the Present
Loan-out
The Magic Circle
support: 1829 × 1270 mm
frame: 2245 × 1685 × 175 mm
Presented by the Trustees of the <a href="/search?gid=999999977" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Chantrey Bequest</a> 1886
<div class="text">
<p>Miracles, magic and the power of prophecy are common themes in Waterhouse's art. More specifically, the notion of woman as enchantress is one that recurs in images such as <i>Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysees</i> (1891, Oldham Art Gallery) and <i>Hylas and the Nymphs</i> (1896, Manchester City Art Gallery). His oeuvre also includes a number of middle-eastern subjects, in which he drew on the work of contemporary artists such as J.F Lewis (1805-76) and Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), rather than on actual experience. This is one of Waterhouse's earlier works, and reflects his fascination with the exotic. </p>
<p>The woman in this picture appears to be a witch or priestess, endowed with magic powers, possibly the power of prophecy. Her dress and general appearance is highly eclectic, and is derived from several sources – her hairstyle is like that of an early Anglo-Saxon; and her dress is decorated with Persian or Greek warriors. In her left hand she holds a crescent-shaped sickle, linking her with the moon and Hecate. With the wand in her right hand she draws a protective magic circle round her. Outside the circle the <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/l/landscape">landscape</a> is bare and barren; a group of rooks or ravens and a frog - all symbols of evil and associated with witchcraft - are excluded. But within its confines are flowers and the woman herself, objects of beauty. </p>
<p>The meaning of the picture is unclear, but its mystery and exoticism struck a chord with contemporary observers. When the picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1886 the critic for the <i>Magazine of Art</i> wrote 'Mr Waterhouse, in <i>The Magic Circle</i>, is still at his best - original in conception and pictorial in his results' (quoted in Hobson, p.37). </p>
<p>
<b>Further reading:</b> <br/>Anthony Hobson, <i>J.W. Waterhouse</i>, Oxford 1989, pp.37-8, reproduced p.36. <br/>Christopher Wood, <i>Victorian Painting</i>, London 1999, pp.236-242. </p>
<p>Frances Fowle <br/>December 2000 </p>
</div>

Summary
2021-07-13T00:00:00
summary
SHORT_TEXT
actions: postures and motions adults agriculture, gardening & fishing animals: birds animals: fish and aquatic life animals: reptiles beauty cauldron cave cliff dress: fantasy/fancy emotions, concepts and ideas exotic fire, open heating and lighting kitchen landscape magic and occultism magic circle magic wand natural phenomena objects people raven religion and belief religious and ceremonial sickle smoke snake society spell standing toad universal concepts witch woman