Ophelia | Léopold Burthe | 1851 John Faed on the other

on the other

The composition features a cluster of irises rendered in rich blues and purples

and the destructive glamour of evil

massive earthquakes rending the earth

where a ship sails away

Ophelia | Léopold Burthe | 1851 John Faed on the otherAbout the artwork: Lopold Burthes Ophelia presents Shakespeares tragic heroine at the threshold between life and death, focusing on the moment described in Act IV, Scene VII of Hamlet, when Ophelia falls near the willow and is carried away by the water. Painted in 1851, the work reflects the nineteenth century fascination with Shakespearean tragedy and with fragile, psychologically charged female figures. Burthe, a French painter associated with