Hamlet Contemplating Yorick’s Skull

Eugène Delacroix French

Not on view

Act 5, scene 1 of "Hamlet" in which the gravedigger preparing Ophelia’s burial site unearths the skull of Yorick, a jester from Hamlet’s childhood, preoccupied Delacroix throughout his career. This lithograph represents his first treatment of the subject in print. He reprised it in paintings for the Salon (one rejected in 1836 and another accepted in 1839) and as part of his suite of illustrations for "Hamlet" in 1843.

Hamlet Contemplating Yorick’s Skull, Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris), Lithograph on chine collé; third state of three

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