Ophelia, a beautiful young woman, is the young daughter of Polonius, the sister of Laertes, and Hamlet's love interest. In the play 'Hamlet', Ophelia is caught between her obedience to her father and her love for Hamlet, which has tragic consequences. Her whole character is that of simple unselfish affection. Even though her love for Hamlet is strong, she obeys her father when he tells her not to see Hamlet again or accept any letters that Hamlet writes. Her heart is pure, and when she does do something dishonest, such as tell Hamlet that her father has gone home when he is really behind the curtain, it is out of genuine fear. Ophelia clings to the memory of Hamlet treating her with respect and tenderness, and she defends him and loves him to the very end despite his brutality.
As in the play, so in visual asts, she has been portrayed as a beautiful young woman with dainty, slender figure and long flowing hair. Not a tragic heroine—but, rather, pure tragedy—she is the Prince of Denmark’s (Hamlet’s) lover and experiences hopeless suffering as a result of her love. She witnesses the progression of his feigned madness, while enduring cruel and humiliating rejection. Ophelia is set up as a pawn by her own father to manipulate Hamlet, but will eventually discover that the Prince has violently murdered her father. Unable to cope, she falls into true madness, and commits suicide by drowning. Shakespeare intensifies the tragic nature of her character, specifically her victimization by men, by making her die offstage. Even in death, she is marginalized. Ophelia simply fades, drops into the water, and drifts away—like flower petals. Mostly associated with wild flowers during her phase of madness, she has always been a favorite tragic character of the visual artists.
J.W. Waterhouse, an English painter (1849-1917) was known to work in the Pre-Raphaelite manner and also adopted the techniques of Impressionism in his later paintings. He borrowed themes from Shakespeare's plays and often illustrated them time and again. His fascination for Shakespeare is self-evident in his visual renderings of Ophelia. He painted three versions of Ophelia, all of which portray her in various stages before her death.
Waterhouse’s first Ophelia in 1889 depicts a young woman lying in a field with hair and dress disheveled gazing past the viewer.The artist has effectively integrated Ophelia with her landscape, entwining flowers in her hair on her dress and in her hands. Unfortunately, the tilt of her head and blank stare make it difficult to determine her thoughts. A stream is pictured in the background, which is as difficult to detect as the subject’s identity to an unknowing viewer.
As in the play, so in visual asts, she has been portrayed as a beautiful young woman with dainty, slender figure and long flowing hair. Not a tragic heroine—but, rather, pure tragedy—she is the Prince of Denmark’s (Hamlet’s) lover and experiences hopeless suffering as a result of her love. She witnesses the progression of his feigned madness, while enduring cruel and humiliating rejection. Ophelia is set up as a pawn by her own father to manipulate Hamlet, but will eventually discover that the Prince has violently murdered her father. Unable to cope, she falls into true madness, and commits suicide by drowning. Shakespeare intensifies the tragic nature of her character, specifically her victimization by men, by making her die offstage. Even in death, she is marginalized. Ophelia simply fades, drops into the water, and drifts away—like flower petals. Mostly associated with wild flowers during her phase of madness, she has always been a favorite tragic character of the visual artists.
J.W. Waterhouse, an English painter (1849-1917) was known to work in the Pre-Raphaelite manner and also adopted the techniques of Impressionism in his later paintings. He borrowed themes from Shakespeare's plays and often illustrated them time and again. His fascination for Shakespeare is self-evident in his visual renderings of Ophelia. He painted three versions of Ophelia, all of which portray her in various stages before her death.
Waterhouse’s first Ophelia in 1889 depicts a young woman lying in a field with hair and dress disheveled gazing past the viewer.The artist has effectively integrated Ophelia with her landscape, entwining flowers in her hair on her dress and in her hands. Unfortunately, the tilt of her head and blank stare make it difficult to determine her thoughts. A stream is pictured in the background, which is as difficult to detect as the subject’s identity to an unknowing viewer.
In contrast, Waterhouse’s 1894 version seats Ophelia on a log, extending out into a pond of lilies in the last moments before her death. Her opulent dress strong contrasts her natural surroundings, but once again Waterhouse has placed flowers on her lap and in her hair tying her into her natural surroundings. She stares out into the dark water, giving the onlooker a profile view of her strangely solemn face. This expression does not seem to accurately portray a woman who has decided to take her own life. Much like the previous Ophelia, the subject looks distant.
This is the last of three paintings on Ophelia; it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1910. John Christian remarks that the painting is stylistically interesting in that "the picture shows how Waterhouse combined Pre-Raphaelite subject matter with a bold impressionistic technique. Most English artists who adopted this method, notably the so-called Newlyn School, rejected the literary themes of the Pre-Raphaelites to paint scenes from modern life. Waterhouse, who knew many of the Newlyn artists, was unusual in attempting to bridge the gulf between the Pre-Raphaelite and realist traditions that divided British art from the 1880's on" (191). Striking too is how Waterhouse departs from the tradition elaborated over the decades; the girlish Ophelia dressed in a simple gown of virginal white is replaced with a voluptuous, mature young woman in a tailored blue and crimson gown with elegant gold embroidery. Two children in contemporary clothing look undiscerningly from the bridge, unaware that Ophelia presses on towards her fate.
It is interesting to note that the three portrayals of Ophelia by Waterhouse form a progression of the moments leading up to her death. In the first, she is young lying in a field, with the stream far behind her. The second portrays a slightly older Ophelia sitting closer to the water, but still appearing distant from her future fate and the viewer. The final painting of Ophelia depicts the subject as a mature woman confronting not only the viewer but also the choice in front of her.
It is interesting to note that the three portrayals of Ophelia by Waterhouse form a progression of the moments leading up to her death. In the first, she is young lying in a field, with the stream far behind her. The second portrays a slightly older Ophelia sitting closer to the water, but still appearing distant from her future fate and the viewer. The final painting of Ophelia depicts the subject as a mature woman confronting not only the viewer but also the choice in front of her.
