約翰‧威廉‧華特豪斯（John William Waterhouse, 1849-1917）是英國十九世紀晚期前拉斐爾畫派（Pre-Raphaelite）的代表畫家。華特豪斯早年深受學院派畫家——勞倫斯‧阿爾瑪－塔德瑪（Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1836-1912）的影響，喜好描繪古代歷史與風俗畫。而奇美博物館的【家庭守護神】即以羅馬時期人們每天在家中的敬拜儀式為題，並曾於1880年入圍皇家藝術學院展，是華特豪斯早年的代表作之一。

一位穿著典型淺藍綠色羅馬式衣袍（Peplos）的女子站在畫面中央，雙手中的竹籃裝滿獻祭用的花草；另一位著粉紅裏衣搭配深藍外袍的女子蹲踞在方形火盆（Brazier）前，右手拿著酒瓶，左手舉起酒杯正向畫面左側的三座青銅神像行敬酒儀式。灰白色或白紅相間的大理石臺座上的神像，配合前方的方形火盆，便是羅馬時期的人們會在家中設立的簡易祭壇（Laraium）。根據畫中神像的形象表現，位於中央拿著布巾的裸女近似維納斯的傳統形象，右側拿著圓盤的女子則被認為可能是豐收女神柯瑞斯（Ceres）。 而蓄鬍的裸體男子則有可能是朱彼特（Jupiter，即希臘神話中的宙斯）。

這種描繪羅馬時期的歷史與風俗民情的題材，源自於十九世紀以來龐貝城（Pompei）的考古挖掘，人們對遠古的生活和信仰產生高度的興趣。此作展現華特豪斯忠於史實的繪畫精神，精準再現羅馬時期的場景，畫中的祭壇、青銅神像和方形火爐的擺放位置，被認為是參照龐貝農牧神之家的設計（House of the Faun）。(徐鈺涵)

John William Waterhouse was a representative painter of the British Pre-Raphaelites in the late 19th century. In his early years, under the influence of Lawrence Alma-Tadema, an academic painter, Waterhouse enjoyed producing ancient historical paintings and genre paintings. This piece took its theme from the worship in the lararium, a household altar prevalent in the Roman period. It was selected for the Royal Academy Exhibition and was one of Waterhouse’s early representative works.

In the picture, two women in Roman robes face the altar with bronze statues on top. The woman in pink top half-kneeling in front of a square incense burner and holds a wine cup and a flask to conduct the ritual to the deities. The other woman in a pale green robe stands beside, holding flowers for the offering. Based on the title and the forms of expression, the statues of the two goddesses on the left, could be Ceres and Venus, were closely bound to Roman lifestyle, and the statue of a bearded naked man is likely to be Zeus.

Genre paintings depicting Roman cultures resulted from the interest in archaeology arising from the excavation of Pompeii in the 19th century, when people became fascinated by the lifestyle and beliefs of the Roman period. The altar, the bronze statues, the square incense burner and the mural painting match exactly with those relics in Pompeii, thus showing Waterhouse’s indulgence in historical research. In addition, he included typical Roman artistic elements for decoration, such as the Ionic pillars and plaid patterns. (Yu Han HSU)