The Crystal Ball

Picture her above your bed, gazing into the crystal ball while you sleep. What does she see in your future?

The Crystal Ball by John William Waterhouse shows a young woman in a red gown, her eyes fixed on the glass globe in her hands. Beside her lies an open book, perhaps a book of spells, and on it rests a skull. Look closely at the window behind her. The garden outside is bright and ordinary. Inside, she is reaching for knowledge most people leave alone. Notice how gently she holds the globe, as if it might break. Deep crimson, dark wood and soft shadow, made for a bedroom wall where the lights go down low.

Waterhouse painted it in 1902, and for years nobody saw the skull. A later owner painted it out, perhaps finding it too grim for the drawing room. Restorers brought it back, and with it the meaning of the whole picture: every answer has a price. Waterhouse loved enchantresses and painted many, from Circe to The Magic Circle. Waterhouse used the same few models again and again, so the same faces return across his enchantresses. The original belongs to a private collection.

The look

Deep crimson, dark wood and soft candlelit shadow. Mysterious, rich and quietly ominous. Pre Raphaelite wall art suited to a dark academia bedroom, study or library.

Gifting

A mysterious gift for a birthday or a new home. Fortune telling with a memento mori twist.

More like this

More Waterhouse in our Pre Raphaelite Art collection: The Magic Circle, Lamia and The Lady of Shalott, plus Circe Invidiosa and Jason and Medea in Greek Mythology Wall Art.