Hamlet Reproaches His Mother

Eugène Delacroix|William Shakespeare

ca. 1834 · Graphite · Drawings and Prints

After Goethe’s "Faust," Delacroix chose "Hamlet" as his next major illustration project. The artist’s interest in Shakespeare began early—he wrote about reading and translating passages in 1819. Among the first subjects he undertook from the play was act 3, scene 4, in which Hamlet shows his mother a portrait of his late father, reproaching her for marrying his murderous uncle Claudius. The use of a straightedge to organize the architecture of the space—an uncommon procedure for Delacroix—demonstrates the care with which he prepared his prints.

Artist

Eugène Delacroix|William Shakespeare

Date

ca. 1834

Medium

Graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in memory of Lucien Goldschmidt, 2013