The Queen Tries to Console Hamlet

"The Queen Tries to Console Hamlet" by Eugène Delacroix, executed in 1834, is a powerful example of Romantic graphic art. Classified as a print, this specific impression is the second state of four, demonstrating the artist's meticulous process in the challenging medium of lithography.

Delacroix held a lifelong fascination with Shakespearean tragedy, particularly the melancholy of Prince Hamlet. This work captures a pivotal, intimate moment between the grieving young man and his mother, Queen Gertrude. The composition emphasizes the psychological distance between the two central figures: the Queen, positioned awkwardly in her attempt to provide comfort, and Hamlet, overwhelmed by despair, resisting her maternal intervention. Delacroix often depicted this fraught relationship between men and queens to explore themes of grief, duty, and emotional turmoil.

As a master of Romantic painting, Delacroix frequently employed prints to disseminate his dramatic interpretations. His series of lithographs detailing the story of Hamlet constitutes one of the most important print cycles of the 19th century, influencing generations of illustrators. The dramatic use of shadow and texture, typical of the lithography process, enhances the emotional intensity of the scene. This print is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, preserving a key example of Delacroix's graphic output. Many early impressions and subsequent states of this seminal work are now part of the public domain, ensuring widespread access to this definitive artistic interpretation of Shakespeare.