Paintings of the death of Ophelia, from the first by Delacroix in 1838 to an etching from 1889. The most popular scene which happens entirely off-stage.
narrative
An outline of the plot of Shakespeare’s greatest play, together with a selection of paintings, excluding those of the death of Ophelia.
In 1882, he was appointed professor, running one of its two busy teaching ateliers. Later he painted commissions for large works in public buildings.
A prodigious painter who made his name in 1869. After that he was a sought-after portraitist and a teacher at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Blocked by church doctrine, cultural shortcomings, lack of training and a preference for hiring established artists from continental Europe, narrative painting started with James Thornhill.
His paintings are set in mediaeval times, with tales of chivalry, or in ‘Regency’ times, with tricorn hats and jovial men selling ribbons door-to-door.
Often considered a Pre-Raphaelite, with common themes, he was an academic outsider whose photo-real paintings are finely crafted fantasies.
Full of memorable lines such as “All the world’s a stage” and songs like “It was a lover and his lass”, a favourite comedy and well painted.
Suppressed by the Reformation, narrative painting didn’t really get going in Britain until the early 18th century, but made up for lost time.
This play, responsible for the burning down of the Globe Theatre, tells the story of Henry’s divorce from Queen Katherine and the birth of Queen Elizabeth I.
The Eclectic Light Company 