Description
John William Waterhouse’s The Crystal Ball places a woman in a long red gown within a richly furnished room. She studies a small translucent sphere held in her hands. A book and skull occupy the nearby table, and a rounded opening reveals the dark foliage beyond.
The bright dress gives the scene its main vertical form. Its flowing folds contrast with the room’s stone, wood, and tiled floor. The woman’s concentrated gaze brings these varied details together around the quiet act of looking into the sphere.
