Destiny

John William Waterhouse's 'Destiny' (1900) is an allegorical subject typical of his engagement with mythological and symbolic themes — the concept of Fate or Destiny as a force operating on human life had been a persistent subject in European painting from the Greek Fates through Renaissance allegory and Victorian narrative painting. Waterhouse's treatment would engage with the concept through the figure or figures that embodied Destiny's operation, giving abstract philosophical content a human, embodied form within the Late Pre-Raphaelite visual tradition.

Waterhouse renders the Destiny allegory with his characteristic combination of archaeological accuracy in the figures' dress and setting with a quality of idealized, dreamlike beauty in the figures themselves. His handling of the symbolic content through the figures' relationships and gestures within the composition gives the abstract concept its emotional and narrative dimension. The composition's organization reflects his mature ability to integrate multiple figures within a unified pictorial space while maintaining the symbolic hierarchy of the allegorical subject.