Macbeth and the Witches (Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 1)
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Plate (trimmed at top): 17 5/8 × 21 13/16 in. (44.8 × 55.4 cm) Sheet: 18 1/16 × 23 5/8 in. (45.8 × 60 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harriet McDonald, 1941
Accession Number
41.91.222
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the shadowy mists of Scotland's heath, this dramatic 1770 etching and engraving captures the fateful encounter from William Shakespeare's *Macbeth*, Act 1, Scene 1—where the three witches conjure their prophecies. Designed by Italian Rococo artist Francesco Zuccarelli, for his theatrical landscapes and fanciful figures, and masterfully engraved by English virtuoso William Woollett, the vividly brings the supernatural to life. Woollett's precise lines evoke the witches' wild, otherworldly presence amid rugged crags and swirling storms, drawing viewers into the play's themes of ambition and d...
About the Artist
William Shakespeare|Francesco Zuccarelli|William Woollett|William Woollett (British|British|British|British) · 1840 |1831 |1564 |1564 –1877 |1912 |1616 |1616
British, active 1840–77|British, London 1831–1912 London|British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon|British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon