Waterhouse painted Lamia and the Soldier in 1905, drawing on John Keats's celebrated 1820 poem Lamia. In that story a young bridegroom discovers on his wedding night that his bride is a monstrous half-serpent who preys on young men. The painting is in a private collection, and a second version from the same year is also privately owned, in London.
The moment before the truth
Waterhouse chose the tender part of the story. A soldier in silver plate armor sits looking down at Lamia, who kneels at his feet in a russet gown with her face turned up to him, holding his hand in both of hers. His helmet rests on the bank beside him. Nothing in the pose says danger. That is the point: the viewer is meant to feel the charm that works on him.
Where the serpent is
Descriptions of the picture note a snakeskin hanging from Lamia's arm and a serpent's tail in the undergrowth, the quiet signs of her monstrous nature waiting in plain sight. Waterhouse often painted women in the grip of enchantment, such as Circe, the Lady of Shalott and Hylas's nymphs. Lamia belongs to that same family, and she is the one where the charm and the threat are the same person.
Little-known facts
- Lamia was originally a figure from Greek legend, a queen who became a child-devouring monster, before Keats turned her into a tragic lover.
- Waterhouse made two versions of the subject in 1905, and one of them is now in a private collection in London.
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