On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P04623
- Author
- Rosales Gallina, Eduardo (Spanish)
- Title
- Ophelia
- Chronology
- 1860-1871
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 60 cm x 95 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- MUSEO ARTE MODERNO
- Procedence
- Museum of Modern Art
This painting depicts the discovery
of the dead body of Hamlet's
beloved Ophelia, floating in the
river after she fell from a weeping
willow, which she had climbed in
order to hang a garland of flowers.
The painting, which has sketchy
brushstrokes, reveals the impact
that William Shakespeare's work had
on Rosales.
Working with extremely thin paint
that allows the canvas's priming to
act as an expressive element,
Rosales uses rapid, confident black
lines to compose the figures
profiles and the scene's profound
realism, including the bloated
belly of the drowned protagonist.
Yet this realism and its concrete
reference to the literary landscape
contrasts with the inclusion of a
male figure, who simply doesn't
exist in the original text.
This work was acquired from María
de Mora y Aragón on 28 January 1965
for the Museum of Modern Art.
