Mermaids and Sirens Symbols of Seduction and Transformation

A Mermaid by J W Waterhouse
Painted in 1900/1901. Waterhouse’s Diploma Work, first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1901. The artist took, even by his own standards, considerable trouble in the realisation of this work, motivated by his attainment of RA status. The single figure of the mermaid combing her hair, and studding it with pearls conveys sadness, and the background of cliffs and rocks is both oppressive and threatening.










The Mermaid by Howard Pyle





















The Horses of Neptune AKA:"Neptune's Horses" by Walter Crane 1892







Ulysses and the Sirens - Herbert James Draper





Hylas & the Nymphs by J W Waterhouse, 1896




The History of Mermaids and Sirens Symbols of Transformation
http://northstargallery.com/mermaids/MermaidHistory2.htm


The first three are posters i have in my bathroom... In time i shall get the other two...-Az