Macbeth IV
Known best as a sculptor, Lehmbruck also made etchings and drypoints in his last decade. This example belongs to a series he devoted to Lady Macbeth, a fearsome figure in Shakespeare's play who encourages her husband to murder King Duncan to attain the throne, and is herself eventually consumed by guilt. Here, she clutches a dagger and is surrounded by corpses and wraiths. The elderly figure in the right foreground likely represents Duncan, while the group at right may be Banquo's family. Traumatized by his service in an army hospital during the First World War, Lehmbruck created this print a year before committing suicide.
Artwork Details
- Title: Macbeth IV
- Artist: Wilhelm Lehmbruck (German, Duisburg 1881–1919 Berlin)
- Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
- Date: 1918
- Medium: Drypoint; first state of two
- Dimensions: plate: 15 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches (39.5 x 29.5 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1923
- Object Number: 23.100.1
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck
1913
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
1913
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
1913
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
1912
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
1911
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