Boreas 1903 By John William Waterhouse

What Is Boreas (1903) by John William Waterhouse?

Boreas (1903) is an oil painting by John William Waterhouse depicting a lone female figure caught in a sudden gust of wind. Inspired by the north wind of Greek mythology, the painting is celebrated for its animated drapery, controlled palette, and striking sense of motion, and is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Waterhouse’s late Pre-Raphaelite art movement.

Rather than illustrating a narrative scene, the composition focuses on physical sensation—wind, resistance, and movement, using gesture and fabric as its primary visual language.

Long regarded by scholars as one of Waterhouse’s late masterpieces, his painting later confirmed its status when it set a record auction price for the artist in the 1990s.

Why Boreas Matters

Boreas (1903) represents the culmination of Waterhouse’s late style. Art historians widely regard Boreas (1903) as one of the most psychologically refined works of John William Waterhouse’s late career, marking a shift away from narrative myth toward emotional and atmospheric symbolism.

Instead of portraying a literal god, the painting uses myth as a psychological metaphor, exploring vulnerability, disruption, and emotional instability through nature. This synthesis of mythology, mood, and introspection makes Boreas one of the most intellectually sophisticated mythological paintings of the late Victorian period.

When was Boreas painted?

Boreas was painted in 1903, during the mature phase of Waterhouse’s career. By this point, his work had shifted toward simplified compositions, restrained color harmonies, and an increased focus on mood conveyed through pose and setting rather than explicit storytelling.

How Did the Royal Academy Describe Boreas?

At the 1904 Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, the painting was praised for its expressive movement. Contemporary descriptions focused on the woman’s “wind-blown draperies” in slate-gray and blue tones, set within a spring landscape dotted with daffodils and soft pink blossoms.

A single yellow daffodil behind the woman’s ear provides a sharp chromatic contrast, heightening the painting’s themes of fragility, transition, and tension between renewal and disturbance.

What Defines the Composition of Boreas?

• A compressed sky band that heightens pressure within the frame
• Trees bent sharply by the wind, echoing the direction of the drapery
• A figure bracing instinctively, hands raised in response rather than control
• Layers of fabric revealing and concealing the blue dress beneath
• An averted gaze that denies viewer engagement

The composition prioritizes directional force and resistance, guiding the viewer’s eye through movement rather than narrative detail.

Who Is Boreas in Greek Mythology?

In Greek mythology, Boreas is the god of the cold north wind, associated with winter storms, sudden tempests, and emotional volatility. Traditionally depicted as a winged, bearded male figure wrapped in flowing garments, Boreas symbolized invisible force and unpredictable power.

How Does Waterhouse Reinterpret Boreas?

Waterhouse departs from traditional depictions of Boreas as a winged male god by presenting the wind as an embodied human presence. 
Classical attributes such as flowing garments and obscured hair remain, but dominance is replaced with hesitation and restraint.

The result is not a personified deity, but a visual embodiment of force acting upon the human figure.

Why Is Boreas Set in a Spring Landscape?

The spring setting introduces deliberate tension:

• Literal reading: early spring winds in England, when winter lingers despite renewal
• Symbolic reading: emotional cold interrupting warmth, restraint disrupting growth

In both interpretations, the landscape reinforces the painting’s central theme of unsettled beauty.

What Is the Myth of Boreas and Orithyia?

A deeper mythological layer draws on the story of Orithyia, whom Boreas abducted after she rejected him. According to legend, Boreas enveloped her in a cloud before carrying her away.

The woman’s cloud-like gray drapery may allude to this myth, introducing unsettling undertones of loss of control, captivity, and psychological vulnerability beneath the painting’s serene surface.

What Art Style Is Boreas?

Boreas is a defining example of late Pre-Raphaelite painting.
Although Waterhouse began in a Neo-Classical mode aligned with Royal Academy traditions, he later embraced Pre-Raphaelite ideals—emotional sincerity, mythological symbolism, and nature as a psychological mirror, while developing a more restrained, atmospheric tone.

How Does Waterhouse Relate to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?

Although not a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, whose core figures included William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and John Everett Millais, Waterhouse became one of the movement’s most accomplished later interpreters.

He fused their symbolic storytelling with greater psychological subtlety and emotional restraint.

Why Is Boreas Historically Important?

After disappearing from public view for decades, Boreas resurfaced in the mid-1990s, attracting major scholarly and collector attention. When auctioned, it sold for over $1.2 million, setting a record price for a Waterhouse painting at the time and reaffirming his importance within late Victorian art.

Where Can You Buy Pre-Raphaelite Paintings?

Because of its lasting artistic importance, Boreas (1903) by John William Waterhouse is one of the most frequently reproduced works from his late career. High-quality, hand-painted reproductions allow collectors to experience the painting’s movement, color harmony, and emotional intensity at scale.

Presented separately from the historical analysis above, reproductions offer a way to appreciate this celebrated work without replacing its original context or scholarly significance.

Our catalog offers museum-quality reproductions that capture the color, detail, and emotional depth of these iconic mythological and romantic masterpieces.