1

Theatrical Paintings

Some painters were more attracted by the theatrical aspect

of the performances.

They captured the celebrated Shakespearean actors of the time

with their gestures and expressions.

Francis Hayman and William Hogarth represented stage sceneries

and performances realistically and marked the beginning

of Shakespeare's success in painting.

Many artists painted portraits of the actors of the time, which became

the showpieces of many exhibitions.

Visual Art

2

The title comes from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, in which the character Ariel describes a death by shipwreck: “Full fathom five thy father lies / Of his bones are coral made / Those are pearls that were his eyes.”The variety of shades and inflections combine to produce an idea of water in movement and depth populated by strange creatures. The painter uses various shades of green mixed with patches of white and many other colours. Depth is also given by the presence of nails, buttons, coins, cigarettes in the paint.

Jackson Pollock, Full Fathom Five, 1947

Oil on canvas with nails, tacks, buttons, key, coins, cigarettes, matches, etc. 129.2 x 76.5 cm The Museum of Modern ArtNew York

3William Hogarth, 1728, scene from The Tempest showing all the main protagonists

4

Johann Joseph Zoffany , David Garrick as Macbeth and

Hannah Pritchard as lady Macbeth, 1768

5

Pieter van Bleeck, Mrs Cibber as Cordelia in King Lear, 1755

6

William Hogarth realistically depicts here David Garrick’s interpretation of Richard III

haunted by the ghosts of the people he murdered, just before the final battle.

William Hogarth, David Garrick as Richard III, 1745

Oil on canvas190.5 x 250.8 cmWalker Art Gallery, Liverpool

7

The Sublime

At the turn of the 18th century, the most visionary aspects

of Shakespeare’s art inspired the works of William Blake,

Henry Fuseli and other artists.

They were influenced by the aesthetic of the sublime,

and captured the visionary, sentimental and passionate aspects

of Shakespeare's works in their paintings.

8

MusArt vol. 5 William Blake (1757-1827) was not only a painter, but also a poet and

mystical philosopher, who believed that instinctive life was the true natural state of man. Imperfect as a painter, he was a master in design and

realized his visionary creatures with a clear, determinate outline. His friend Heinrich Füssli (1741-1825) developed a Romantic passion for the strange, the fantastic and the horrifying, which comes out in many of

his literary subjects (e.g. Shakespeare’s plays) Blake- The Ancient of Days, 1794,

Features: The God (Urizon) visible in the painting shows Michelangelo’s influence (see The Creation, Sistine Chapel, Rome). Transformed into a fantastic divine figure, the sun of life emitting blinding light, his hands are

transformed into compasses planning the new world, against the blackness of Chaos.

9

Henry Fuseli, 1784-85, Hamlet sees his Father’s Ghost

10

Henry Fuseli, Titania and Bottom, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1790

Here the Swiss painter is attracted by the enchanted realm described in the play.

Oil on canvas217.12 x 275.6 cmTate Gallery, London

11

William Blake in this colourful watercolour fixes the imaginary dimension of the play.

Pencil and watercolour on paper47.5 x 67.5 cmTate Gallery, London

William Blake, Oberon, Titania and Punk with fairies dancing, 1785-86

12

Romantic Paintings

The great painters of European Romanticism made Shakespeare’s works more popular. They captured the passions, nightmares and

gloom of Shakespeare’s characters and showed the dramatic contrasts of the characters’ souls against a vivid landscape.

•

13

This is an example of how Shakespeare’s fantastic world can be interpreted using landscape elements mingled into a marvellous chromatic harmony.

William Turner, Queen Mab's Cave, 1846

Oil on canvas92.1 x 122.6 cmTate Gallery, London

14

Francesco Hayez, The Last Kiss from Juliet to Romeo, 1823

This painting stresses the lovers’ farewell and its inevitability through the bare setting and the dark colours.

Oil on canvas291 x 201.8 cmVilla Carlotta,Tremezzo (Como)

15

Eugene Delacroix (1798 – 1863), The Death of Ophelia (1853)

16

Anselm Feuerbach, (1829 – 80)

Romeo and Juliet (1864)

17

Anselm Feuerbach, Othello

18Macbeth seeing the ghost of Banquo, Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856)

19

Victorian Paintings

During the reign of Queen Victoria artists started considering

Shakespeare's subjects connected with the supernatural

and the fantastic, as an expression of the Celtic origins

of the British people.

The painters of the first decades of the 19th century rendered

the dynamism of the period and the desire to explore

the unknown with dramatic light effects.

20

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Robert Huskisson (1820-1861), "Midsummer Night's Faeries“ (1847)

21Robert Huskisson (1820-1861), The Tempest, 1847

22

The Disenchantment of Bottom is a very detailed painting not describing a dream but a nightmare,

capturing the darker aspects of the play.

Oil on canvas

Wadsworth AtheneumHartfordConnecticut

Daniel Maclise, The Disenchantment of Bottom, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1832

23

Abstract Art

Also modern artists have been inspired by Shakespeare.

One among the most important representatives of the Abstract Art

is Jackson Pollock who transformed a passage

from Ariel’s song (The Tempest) into image.

24

Marc Chagall (1887 – 1985)- The concert (1957), Othello by  William Shakespeare