The Play-Within-A-Play
Eugène Delacroix French
Lithographer Villain French
Subject William Shakespeare British
Not on view
In 1834 Delacroix began a series of lithographs devoted to Hamlet, creating moody images that mirror the troubled psyche of the prince. Choosing key scenes and poetic passages, the artist's highly personal and dramatic images were unusual in France, where interest in Shakespeare developed only in the nineteenth century. Here we see the famous episode in act 3, scene 2, where Hamlet arranges for visiting players to perform a drama about fratricide, in order to prick his uncle's conscience. During the performance, the prince remarks offhandedly, "Tis a knavish piece of work, but what of that?...it touches us not...He poisons him...for his estate." Tones that range from deepest blacks to pale grays subtly underscore the king's guilty discomfort. Gihaut frères published the artist's thirteen-print set in 1843, with a second expanded edition of sixteen issued by Bertauts in 1864. Cooly received at first, the prints eventually were recognized as one of the artist's most significant achievements.
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