Charles William Mitchell

Charles William Mitchell
Hypatia by Charles William Mitchell (1885)

Charles William Mitchell (1854 – 1903) was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter from Newcastle. A contemporary of John William Waterhouse, his work is similar in many ways. His one famous piece was Hypatia, shown in 1885 and likely inspired by the Charles Kingsley serialized novel Hypatia or New Foes with an Old Face. This painting is currently in the Laing Art Gallery.

As you can see he created the iconic as well as ironic painting of Hypatia in front of a Christian altar, the irony being that she was pagan.