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Macbeth IV

Subject William Shakespeare British
1918
Not on view
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

Object Information
  • 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

More Artwork

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Repose (Ruhende vom Rücken), Wilhelm Lehmbruck German, Drypoint; first state of two
Repose (Ruhende vom Rücken)
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Paolo and Francesca (Paolo und Francesca groß, Hochformat), Wilhelm Lehmbruck German, Drypoint; first state of two
Paolo and Francesca (Paolo und Francesca groß, Hochformat)
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
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Composition (Große Komposition), Wilhelm Lehmbruck German, Drypoint; first state of three
Composition (Große Komposition)
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
1913
Head of a Woman (Kopf Groß), Wilhelm Lehmbruck German, Drypoint
Head of a Woman (Kopf Groß)
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
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Kneeling One (Kneide, groß), Wilhelm Lehmbruck German, Drypoint; first state of three
Kneeling One (Kneide, groß)
Wilhelm Lehmbruck
1911

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