"Jocund Day Stands Tip Toe on the Misty Mountain Tops" (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 5)
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 11/16 × 10 7/8 in. (42.4 × 27.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Alexander B.V. Johnson and Roberta J.M. Olson, 2012
Accession Number
2012.539.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century, British artist George Richmond captured the poetic essence of William Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet* in this evocative graphite drawing titled *"Jund Day Stands Tip on the Misty Mountain Tops"* (ca. 1830). The title draws directly from Act 3, Scene 5, where Juliet laments the dawn's arrival, personifying the "jocund day" tiptoeing over misty peaks. Richmond, a close associate of William Blake and part of the visionary "Ancients" circle, infused the work with Romantic sensibilities, blending literary inspiration with delicate natural imagery and the human form—highl...
About the Artist
George Richmond|William Shakespeare
British, Brompton 1809–1896 London