Mystery of why brilliant British Pre-Raphaelite artist chose a hirundine species for two of his most famous paintings

               

Spot the Housemartins - The Lady of Shalott (1888)

ALTHOUGH he is not one of Britain's best-known artists, John William Waterhouse is one of the finest.

He chose as his inspiration themes or characters from great poetry and drama of an earlier time. 

John Waterhouse (1849-1917)

                                       

The countryside provides the backdrop for many of his 118 known paintings, but birds seldom feature - except in two  of them, The Lady of Shalott and Ophelia. 

Curiously enough, the species is the same in both. Depicted to the left of both women are two Housemartins. 

Why Waterhouse chose this bird - and whether it is of symbolic significance - remains a mystery to this day.

                                    

Above and below: the Housemartins reappear in his study of Ophelia (1889)