Eugène Delacroix – The Death of Ophelia Part 2 Louvre

Description of Eugène Delacroix’s Death of Ophelia

The painting is based on an episode from William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. Eugène Delacroix has always been interested in the mysteries of the soul. By portraying Ophelia in a state of half-witness, he tries to grasp the human essence. Like many romantics, Delacroix believed that it is in a state of madness or death throes surface deep human experiences.

It is impossible not to note the originality and special energy of the artistic world of the painting. Blue and green colors dominate in the drawing of the landscape. But thanks to the intricacy of their shades Delacroix’s work does not look gloomy. On the contrary, it appears relief and dynamic. The outlines of trees, the exact depiction of each leaf, and the calm waves lapping on the water surface give the painting an unusual liveliness. It seems that a little more - and you can hear the splash of water and the song of crickets. The nature is calm. Silence and peace reigns all around.

There is no tranquillity only in Ophelia’s soul. She looks in despair and utter hopelessness. A feeling of inexpressible melancholy is also reflected in the heroine’s unnatural pose. The artist seems to have caught the moment of Ophelia’s fall, and now thanks to the artist’s skill she is half-lying in the chilly waters. Another moment and the heroine releases from her hands the sprig of wood symbolizing her life. We see the woman a second before her obedience to the ancient element. And therein lies the dramatic tension of the work. Notably, Ophelia’s body and the trunk of the nearby tree are as if illuminated by moonlight. The heroine’s soul is like a light, ready to go out and become part of the dark night.

The celebration of the beauty, majesty and immortality of nature resonates with Ophelia’s state of mind and only increases the tragedy of the situation. Delacroix shows how lonely and fleeting human life is.