Macbeth III

Wilhelm Lehmbruck German
Publisher T. C. & E. C. Jack British
Subject William Shakespeare British

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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.

Macbeth III, Wilhelm Lehmbruck (German, Duisburg 1881–1919 Berlin), Drypoint; only state

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