Diogenes by John William Waterhouse Postcard

Diogenes by John William Waterhouse, oil on canvas 1882, is an academic history painting of Diogenes of Sinope, founder of the Cynic, later the Stoic, school of ancient Greek philosophy. Diogenes eschewed all worldly wealth and lived in a large jar from the temple of Cybele, shown here. In the foreground is his famous lantern, which he carried in broad daylight, proclaiming that “I am looking for an honest man”, and the onions of his sparse, stoic diet. This early Waterhouse composition is akin to the realism of 19th century history painting than the more painterly, Impressionistic pictures of his later career. John William Waterhouse (1849 - 1917) was an English painter of the Pre-Raphaelite school of the late 19th century. After studying at the British Royal Academy of Art, Waterhouse painted classical scenes from ancient Greek mythology, gradually acquiring the stylistic traits of the Pre-Raphaelites as well as the painterly qualities of the French Impressionists. Though overshadowed by the more famous members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Waterhouse exhibited with great success and produced many paintings with themes of female figures from mythology and the legends of King Arthur.