Echo - Study for the head for Echo and Narcissus.

This study for the head of Echo was painted by Waterhouse in 1903 as preparatory work for his larger canvas Echo and Narcissus. The ancient myth of Echo — the nymph condemned to repeat only the last words spoken to her, fading away in unrequited love for Narcissus — appealed to Waterhouse's sustained interest in women from classical mythology whose stories involved thwarted desire and transformation. Preparatory studies like this head were an important part of his working method, allowing him to resolve the expression and coloring of a figure before committing to the final canvas. The study captures Echo's yearning gaze with particular directness.

As a study, the head is painted with unusual immediacy and concentration. Waterhouse focuses entirely on the face and its expression — the yearning characteristic of Echo's tragic position — without the contextual landscape elements of the finished composition. His handling of the skin tones is delicate, with careful gradations from the lit forehead into the shadows beneath the cheek.