Hamlet and Ophelia, plate 5 from Hamlet
1835–43
Medium
Lithograph in black on off-white China paper laid down on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 24.2 × 19.8 cm (9 9/16 × 7 13/16 in.); Sheet: 54.8 × 36 cm (21 5/8 × 14 3/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
142576
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with its iconic tortured hero and its supernatural themes, has long captivated artists. Eugène Delacroix’s series highlights 16 scenes from the play. Here the artist captured the famous moment in which Hamlet, recoiling from Ophelia, scornfully commands his former love to “Get thee to a nunnery!” She sits despondently in a chair as she receives this abuse. Delacroix skillfully employed dramatic contrasts of light and dark to highlight the tension of the scene.
About the Artist
Eugène Delacroix · 1798–1863
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) stands as the defining figure of French Romanticism and a pivotal bridge to modernism. Born in Charenton-Saint-Maurice near Paris, he came from distinguished lineage—his mother descended from the prestigious Oeben-Riesener furniture dynasty, while persistent speculation suggested the statesman Talleyrand may have been his biological father, a theory supported by physic...