Ophelia (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 7)

Sir John Everett Millais|James Stephenson|Henry Graves & Company|William Shakespeare|The Printsellers' Association, London

March 1, 1866 · Mezzotint, etching and stipple on chine collé; proof · Drawings and Prints

Here, Hamlet’s rejected lover, her mind unhinged, has fallen into a brook while picking wildflowers. Inspired by an evocative description of Ophelia’s death in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (act 4, scene 7), Millais painted the subject for a London Royal Academy exhibition in 1852; this masterful print reproduces that composition. As a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Millais challenged artistic convention and spent months outdoors painting the lush setting, and then posed a model in a bathtub in his studio to complete the composition. The painting’s hyperrealistic detail and collapsed space initially unsettled viewers, but this later print encouraged admiration for the groundbreaking conception. Stephenson combined mezzotint, etching, and stipple to evoke the rich silverwork adorning Ophelia’s gown and describe the range of plants and flowers embellishing her watery grave.

Artist

Sir John Everett Millais|James Stephenson|Henry Graves & Company|William Shakespeare|The Printsellers' Association, London

Date

March 1, 1866

Medium

Mezzotint, etching and stipple on chine collé; proof

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949