After Goethe’s "Faust," Delacroix chose "Hamlet" as his next major illustration project. The artist’s interest in Shakespeare began early—he wrote about reading and translating passages in 1819. Among the first subjects he undertook from the play was act 3, scene 4, in which Hamlet shows his mother a portrait of his late father, reproaching her for marrying his murderous uncle Claudius. The use of a straightedge to organize the architecture of the space—an uncommon procedure for Delacroix—demonstrates the care with which he prepared his prints.
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Dimensions:Overall: 6 7/8 x 9 3/16 in. (17.5 x 23.3 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in memory of Lucien Goldschmidt, 2013
Object Number:2013.1135.14
Inscription: Inscribed in graphite on verso lower right: "M Albert de la Fizelière 12 rue du Hâvre"
Marking: Stamped in red ink, lower right: Delacroix estate mark (Lugt 838a); lower left with the collection mark of Edgar Degas: Atelier Ed. Degas (Lugt 657)
Eugène Delacroix (French)(his estate sale, Paris 1864); M. Albert Fiziliere (French)(bought from Delacroix 1864 sale for 20 francs); Edgar Degas (French)(vente Degas, Paris, Mar. 27, 1918, lot 151); Private Collection, Europe; MacKinnon and Strachey (British)(as of 1987); Jill Newhouse (American)(Sold to Karen B. Cohen, 1987)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections," April 10–June 16, 1991.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Private Collection of Edgar Degas," October 1, 1997–January 11, 1998.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," October 25, 2004–January 23, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," October 17, 2006–January 7, 2007.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Devotion to Drawing: The Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix," July 17–November 12, 2018.
Robaut 573; Moreau 45; MMA 1991.95; MMA 1997.248
Adolphe Moreau Eugène Delacroix et son oeuvre. Librairie des Bibliophiles, Paris, 1873, litho p. 64, no. 185, cat. no. 45, p. 136, ill.
Edgar Degas Catalogue des Tableaux Modernes et Anciens. Paris, March 26-27, 1918, cat. no. lot 151, p. 64.
Jacob Bean, Lee Johnson, William M. Griswold Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections. Ex. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, cat. no. 95, p. 202, ill.
Colta Ives, Susan Alyson Stein The Private Collection of Edgar Degas. A Summary Catalogue. Ex. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997, cat. no. 248.
Ann Dumas, Colta Ives, Susan Alyson Stein, Gary Tinterow The Private Collection of Edgar Degas. Ex. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997, cat. no. 248, p. 34, ill.
Maria Grazia Messina "Shakespeare and Romantic Painting in Europe" in Shakespeare in Art, published on the occasion of the exhibition, Dulwich Picture Gallery. Jane Martineau, 2003, pp. 174-179 (opinions of Shakespeare in France, stage productions and paintings made in response by Delacroix and Chasseriau).
Christophe Leribault Une passion pour Delacroix: la collection Karen B. Cohen. Paris, 2009, cat. no. 22, p. 54, ill.
Ashley Dunn, Colta Ives, Marjorie Shelley Delacroix Drawings: The Karen B. Cohen Collection. New York, 2018, cat. no. 70, pp. 100, 162, ill.
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The Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished of its kind in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt, a Museum trustee, in 1880.
