Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus and the Ghost (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4)
first published 1796; reissued 1852
Medium
Stipple engraving; fourth state of four
Dimensions
Image: 17 in. × 23 7/16 in. (43.2 × 59.5 cm) Sheet: 21 9/16 x 27 1/2 in. (54.8 x 69.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gertrude and Thomas Jefferson Mumford Collection, Gift of Dorothy Quick Mayer, 1942
Accession Number
42.119.545
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the eerie midnight battlements of Elsinore Castle with this dramatic stipple engraving, *Hamlet, Horatio,us and the Ghost* from Act 1, Scene 4 of Shakespeare's *Hamlet*. Capturing the tense moment when the spectral king appears to Prince Hamlet and his companions, the print vividly conveys the play's supernatural dread and themes of mortality and revenge. First published in 1796 reissued in 185, this fourth and final state measures an imposing 17 by 23 inches, immersing viewers in the ghostly encounter. Designed by the visionary Romantic artist Henry Fuseli, known for his theatrical...
About the Artist
Shearjashub Spooner|Robert Thew|Henry Fuseli|John & Josiah Boydell|William Shakespeare (American|British|British|British) · 1809 |1760 |1786 |1564 –1859 |1797 |1804 |1616
American, Brandon, Vermont 1809–1859 Plainfield, New Jersey|British, ca. 1765–1797 London|British, 1786–1804|British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon