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Hamlet Reproaches His Mother

Subject William Shakespeare British
ca. 1834
Not on view
After Goethe’s "Faust," Delacroix chose "Hamlet" as his next major illustration project. The artist’s interest in Shakespeare began early—he wrote about reading and translating passages in 1819. Among the first subjects he undertook from the play was act 3, scene 4, in which Hamlet shows his mother a portrait of his late father, reproaching her for marrying his murderous uncle Claudius. The use of a straightedge to organize the architecture of the space—an uncommon procedure for Delacroix—demonstrates the care with which he prepared his prints.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hamlet Reproaches His Mother
  • Artist: Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
  • Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Date: ca. 1834
  • Medium: Graphite
  • Dimensions: Overall: 6 7/8 x 9 3/16 in. (17.5 x 23.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in memory of Lucien Goldschmidt, 2013
  • Object Number: 2013.1135.14
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Studies of Horses, Eugène Delacroix French, Graphite and traces of brown ink on laid paper
Studies of Horses
Eugène Delacroix
A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head, Eugène Delacroix French, Pen and brown ink on tracing paper (mounted on heavy wove paper)
A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head
Eugène Delacroix
1815–63
Les Français peints par eux-mêmes encyclopédie morale du dix-neuvième siècle. Paris, L. Curmer, 1840-1842.
Eugène Delacroix
19th century
La Pietà, Eugène Delacroix French, Etching on chine collé; second state of two
La Pietà
Multiple artists/makers
1852
Studies of a Goat, Eugène Delacroix French, Graphite on wove paper
Studies of a Goat
Eugène Delacroix
1798–1863

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