Macbeth III
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 as a means to the throne, and is herself eventually consumed by guilt. Here, she wears a crown, clutches a dagger and is surrounded by corpses and wraiths, including a young mother who holds a child up like a totem. Lembruck was traumatized by his service in an army hospital during the First World War and created this print a year before committing suicide.
Artwork Details
- Title: Macbeth III
- Artist: Wilhelm Lehmbruck (German, Duisburg 1881–1919 Berlin)
- Publisher: T. C. & E. C. Jack , London
- Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
- Date: 1918
- Medium: Drypoint; only state
- Dimensions: plate: 15 3/4 x 11 1/4 inches (40 x 29.5 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Bruno and Sadie Adriani, 1956
- Object Number: 56.631.5
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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