Details

Title

The Death of Ophelia (Mort d'Ophélie), from the Hamlet series

Artist/Maker

Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798–1863)

Date

1843, printed 1864

Medium

Black and white lithograph on wove paper

Dimensions

7 5/16 × 10 1/8 inches

Credit

Purchase in honor of Mrs. Robert Wells, President 1972-1973 of the Members Guild

Accession #

73.47

On View

Currently not on view

Ophelia, whose mind has become unhinged by the murder of Polonius, her father, and by Hamlet’s rejection of her, has fallen into a stream while picking flowers. As reported in Gertrude’s words, she drifted in the water “till that her garments, heavy with their drink, pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay to muddy death.” Drawn in nuanced shadings of gray, the composition’s delicate beauty contrasts with the tragic event it depicts.