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Ophelia (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 4)

Engraver Francesco Bartolozzi Italian
After James Nixon British
Subject William Shakespeare British
1784
Not on view
Ophelia appears in act 4 of Shakespeare's play, her mind unhinged by her father's murder. Singing nonsense rhymes, she distributes herbs to the king, queen and her brother then, soon afterward, slips into a stream while picking flowers, and drowns. Gertrude, the queen describes this tragedy thus:
There with fantastic garlands did she make,
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples....
There, on the pendent bough her coronet weeds,
Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke,
When down her weedy trophies and herself, fell in the weeping book...
Bartolozzi's engraving, based on a drawing by Nixon, combines elements from both episodes to characterize Ophelia's tragic end.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ophelia (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 4)
  • Engraver: Francesco Bartolozzi (Italian, Florence 1728–1815 Lisbon)
  • Artist: After James Nixon (British, ca. 1741–1812)
  • Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Date: 1784
  • Medium: Etching and stipple engraving, printed in brown ink; fourth state of four
  • Dimensions: oval image: 4 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. (11.4 x 9.2 cm)
    sheet: 8 1/4 x 7 in. (21 x 17.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.3.2843
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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