Waterhouse’s love of nature interplays with his clear Pre-Raphaelite tendencies in Hylas and the Water Nymphs. He paints with broad bold colors, poignant attention to detail, and a clear reproduction of the classical aesthetics. John William Waterhouse loved the natural setting and spent a great deal of time on the masterly reproduction of the translucent water lilies, dark murky depths, and gentle blossoms. In both The Siren and Hylas and the Nymphs, nature plays a backdrop to a glaring tale of tragedy.

The pale nymphs in Hylas and the Nymphs are typical of Waterhouse’s “English Rose” style. His idealized Romantic depiction of women - iconic and unforgettable - is evidenced in the reproduction of the water nymphs. At once the nymphs seem fragile and mysterious. Their perfectly white skin and red blood lips are sensual and only hinting of impending danger. Comparing this painting to The Siren, one can see similarities in Waterhouse’s artistic treatment of female creatures of death. The siren and the water nymphs are strikingly beautiful and nakedly sensual, betraying men by claiming fragility. The political parallelisms of women at the height of the Industrial Revolution and the Greek creatures in Waterhouse’s work cannot be missed in Hylas and the Nymphs.