Literary Movements
Examine a specific artwork influenced by a literary work and how the artist captured the subject or story.
1 – (Use this literary work ) Sir John Everett Millais’s Ophelia (influenced by Shakespeare’s Ophelia from Hamlet)
Sample Answer
Literary Movements
The Ophelia is one of the most admired and influential paintings of the nineteenth century. The painting by Sir John Everett Millais, one of the most famous British artists, is admired for its beauty and accurate depiction of the landscape; despite being painted during an era when photography was underdeveloped, thus pictures were not clear. The artist painted the piece of art in an outdoor setting by the Hogsmill River (Inglis, 2017). The artist used various colors to give an accurate and detailed depiction of the natural landscape that it represents.
The work of Shakespeare inspired the painting. It represents a descriptive scene VII from Act IV of Shakespeare’s piece or work: Hamlet. It is recognized as one of the best and accurate depictions of this scene from Shakespeare’s work. The painting depicts the death of Ophelia, a character in Hamlet, who dies of grieve, sorrow, and madness following the murder of her father by her lover. She is portrayed as a young woman singing while floating in a river, moments before she drowns and dies.
The painting uses colors to portray Ophelia’s wildflowers to make garlands of wildflowers while out of her mind with grief. It depicts her lying in the water singing songs, unaware of her danger and surroundings after she falls from a willow tree obtaining flowers. The image symbolizes the high magnitude of sorrow and grief and her mental instability. The painting also portrays Ophelia posing with her open arms and upwards gaze. The pose is symbolic. It represents the traditional portrayals of saints, thus depicting the innocence of the young woman. It can also be interpreted as having an erotic meaning because her lover’s actions cause her death.
The floating flowers seen on the painting are symbolic as well. The prominent red poppy represents sleep and death. The bright, intense colors used in the landscape portrays a sharp contrast between Ophelia pale skin and the nature behind her. The contrast depicts the contrast in the young woman’s dreams with what she eventually encounters: Ophelia has lived a life awaiting happiness, but she finds destiny on the verge of death (Tate, n.d.). The painting is one of the most influential 19th-century pieces of art. It has influenced the works of many artists, including John William Waterhouse, Ed Ruscha and, Salvador Dalí, among others.
