Ophelia (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5)

Caroline Watson|Robert Edge Pine|John Boydell|William Shakespeare

1784 · Stipple engraving; printed in brown ink · Drawings and Prints

Ophelia appears here, her mind unhinged by the murder of her father and rejection by Hamlet. In Act 4 of Shakespeare's play she appears crowned with weeds and flowers, singing pathetically, and distributing herbs to members of the court whom she no longer recognizes. The related painting by Pine was shown in April 1782, with six other subjects from Shakespeare, at the Great Room in Spring-Gardens with plans announced for engravings "in the chalk manner," by Caroline Watson and Victor Marie Picot. After Pine departed for America, Boydell bought the plates and reissued this version of the print.

Artist

Caroline Watson|Robert Edge Pine|John Boydell|William Shakespeare

Date

1784

Medium

Stipple engraving; printed in brown ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953