1895 J. W. WATERHOUSE "OPHELIA" ORIGINAL PRE-RAPHAELITE ETCHING by JAMES DOBIE

Description: "OPHELIA" ORIGINAL 1895 ETCHING by JAMES DOBIE, after the Pre-Raphaelite painting by JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE (1849-1917) Signed bottom right corner and fully inscribed in the caption area. With her roots in classical mythology,Ophelia is best known as a character in "Hamlet," by William Shakespeare. She is driven mad when her father, Polonius, is murdered by her lover, Hamlet. She dies while still very young, suffering from grief and madness. In a conversation between Queen Gertrude and Ophelia’s brother Laertes, Gertrude describes how Ophelia fell into the river while picking flowers and slowly drowned, singing all the while. There is a willow grows aslant a brook,That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;There with fantastic garlands did she come,Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,But our cold maids do dead man's fingers call them:There, on the pendant boughs her coronet weedsClambering to hang, an envious sliver broke,When down her weedy trophies and herselfFell in the weeping brook.(Act IV, Scene 7) Waterhouse painted three different versions of "Ophelia". The first, showing Ophelia lying deranged in a meadow near the fatal brook, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1889. It is now lost, but is known from an old photograph. The painting etched here by Dobie was exhibited at the New Gallery in 1894. Finally, at the RA of 1910, Waterhouse showed a painting of Ophelia making her way to the brook, clutching her garlands. The image on offfer here is arguably the most beautiful of the trio. The master engraver/etcher James Dobie (1849-1911) was born in Edinburgh, but worked for most of his career in the London area. He engraved landscape and genre scenes, and also mythological subjects. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1885 until his death, and received several commissions - like this one - from the "Magazine of Art". CONDITION: Very good condition. Well printed on thick wove paper. Margins intact, platemark clearly visible. A few sundry and very minor blemishes in the blank areas of the sheet (I try to show them). A nice strong clear impression with excellent tonal contrast and detail. Published in the prestigious showcase "Magazine of Art" in 1895 SIZE of main engraved image area is 23.5 x 14 centimetres. Adequate blank margins beyond, giving a total sheet size of 31 x 22 centimetres. Blank to reverse. ***ALL OF MY ITEMS ARE SENT VIA TRACKED ROYAL MAIL SERVICE, FOR EVERYBODY'S PEACE OF MIND, BOTH TO UK AND WORLDWIDE. I AM HAPPY TO COMBINE SHIPPING COSTS IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE IN MY LISTINGS WHICH CATCHES YOUR EYE!

Price: 85 GBP

Location: Wadhurst

End Time: 2024-11-04T18:37:30.000Z

Shipping Cost: 15.25 GBP