The Danaides

Artist John William Waterhouse (Rome, Italy, 1849 - 1917)

Date1906

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: 162.5 × 127.4cm
Frame Size: 191.1 × 155.5 × 11cm
Weight: 61kg

AcquisitionPurchased in 1927 with income from the Macdonald Bequest.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG003402

Keywords

About MeStylistically, Waterhouse has been associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, through his depiction of dreamy women. However, he was in fact working in a later era and his art differed widely from that of the original Brotherhood in its lack of moral seriousness.

The Danaides in Greek mythology were the fifty daughters of King Danaus of Argos, who were all married on a single occasion to fifty suitors. As instructed by their father, all but one of them murdered their husbands on their wedding night. As a result, they were condemned to an afterlife of unending labour, having to draw water from a well and pour it into a vessel from which it continually escaped.

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This tale has it all: forced marriage, massed murder, retribution, regicide, the formation of a new dynasty. For their part the Danaides' pointless task is to endlessly fill a leaking vessel.