The Missal

The Missal, painted by Waterhouse in 1902, depicts a woman absorbed in reading a missal — a Roman Catholic prayer book used in the celebration of Mass. The combination of a beautiful young woman and a devotional object was a recurring theme in Victorian and Edwardian painting, suggesting piety, contemplation, and the interior life. Waterhouse painted numerous images of women reading, writing, or engaged in quiet, absorbed activities, and The Missal belongs to this series of reflective female subjects. The work's current private ownership has kept it from public museum display.

Waterhouse renders the figure with the careful observation of form and light that characterizes his mature work. The missal itself — a small, specific object — anchors the composition and provides a narrative focus. His handling of the woman's dress and the surrounding atmosphere is fluid, while the face and hands receive the most precise attention.