King Lear and Cordelia (Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 4, Scene 7)
Medium
Stipple engraving, printed in brown ink
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed within plate): 12 5/8 × 17 3/16 in. (32.1 × 43.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Olga Sichel and Max Philippson, 1962
Accession Number
62.557.175
Tags
About this artwork
This stipple engraving captures the poignant moment of reconciliation between King Lear and his daughter Cordelia, depicting Act 4, Scene 7 of Shakespeare's tragedy when the elderly king awakens in the French camp following his ordeal on the heath. The composition shows Lear regaining consciousness, supported by a figure (Kent or a physician), while Cordelia tenderly attends her father with evident concern and forgiveness. The scene represents one of Shakespeare's most emotionally powerful momen...
Art Historical Context
In this poignant stipple engraving from around 1783, Francesco Bartolozzi captures a heart-wrenching moment from William Shakespeare's *King Lear*, Act 4, Scene 7. The elderly king, having spiraled into madness after betrayal by his other daughters, awakens in the French camp, tenderly attended by his loyal Cordelia. Supported by a figure—likely Kent or a physician—Lear stirs to consciousness as Cordelia gazes with forgiveness and concern, embodying one of Shakespeare's most emotionally charged scenes of reconciliation and redemption. Executed after a painting by Benjamin West, the American h...
About the Artist
Benjamin Beale Evans|William Shakespeare|Francesco Bartolozzi|Benjamin West (British|British|Italian|American) · 1765 |1564 |1728 |1738 –1824 |1616 |1815 |1820
British, ca. 1765–1824|British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon|Italian, Florence 1728–1815 Lisbon|American, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 1738–1820 London