Circe Invidiosa (1892). Artist: John William Waterhouse (1849-1917). Circe Invidiosa is a vintage Victorian Pre-Raphaelite fine art painting featuring a woman holding a vessel with water spilling out like a waterfall. In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic (nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress) living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey.

By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios (or Helius), the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid and the sister of Aeetes, the keeper of the Golden Fleece and of Pasiphaë, the mother of the Minotaur. Other accounts make her the daughter of Hecate.

Circe transformed her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals through the use of magical potions. She was renowned for her knowledge of drugs and herbs.

About the artist:
JW Waterhouse was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter most famous for his paintings of female characters from ancient Greek mythology and literature.