Ophelia's Song

Ophelia's Song by Eugène Delacroix French, 1798-1863, is a significant lithographic print created in 1834. This work exemplifies the artist's lifelong engagement with literary tragedy and his position as a central figure in the French Romantic movement. The technique is highly specific: a rich black lithograph impressed onto delicate white China paper, subsequently laid down onto a more substantial white wove paper base. This method not only preserves the subtle details of Delacroix's drawing but also provides the necessary stability for the final composition.

Delacroix frequently turned to the plays of William Shakespeare for inspiration, regarding the English playwright as the ultimate source for dramatizing intense human emotion. This particular piece captures the ill-fated Ophelia from Hamlet, focusing on the moment of her madness and subsequent descent toward death. The master achieves a dramatic tonal range through the lithographic medium, using deep shadows and sharp highlights to enhance the psychological tension inherent in the tragic scene.

As a master of graphic arts, Delacroix understood the power of prints to disseminate complex compositions across France and beyond. The accessibility of such works broadened the influence of Romanticism during the 19th century. This specific example of Ophelia's Song is meticulously preserved and held within the esteemed prints and drawings collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Many of the great European prints from this period are now considered part of the public domain, allowing scholars and enthusiasts worldwide to study Delacroix’s pivotal contribution to 19th-century graphic arts.