She Lov'd Me for the Dangers, plate three from Othello
Medium
Etching, engraving, roulette and drypoint on ivory China paper, laid down on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Chine: 28.7 × 33.9 cm (11 5/16 × 13 3/8 in.); Plate: 34.5 × 36.4 cm (13 5/8 × 14 3/8 in.); Sheet: 39.5 × 52.8 cm (15 9/16 × 20 13/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
40770
Art Historical Context
Théodore Chassériau's *She Lov'd Me for the Dangers*, plate three from his *Othello* series, captures a poignant moment from Shakespeare's tragedy. Created in 1844, this etching draws from Othello's famous line recounting how Desdemona fell in love with his tales of peril and adventure. At just 25, the French artist—pupil of Ingres and influenced by Romanticism—produced this as part of a suite illustrating the play, reflecting the 19th-century fascination with Shakespearean drama amid Europe's Romantic revival. Chassériau masterfully combines etching, engraving, roulette, and drypoint on deli...
About the Artist
Théodore Chassériau · 1819–1856
Théodore Chassériau was born on September 20, 1819, in El Limón, Samaná, in the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo — present-day Dominican Republic — to a French father and a Creole mother. The family relocated to Paris in 1820, and the young Chassériau's exceptional talent was evident almost immediately. At just eleven years old, in 1830, he was accepted into the prestigious studio of Jean-Auguste-D...