Shakespeare created a large number of popular literary works, the most well-known of which is the drama work, and the "Four Tragedies" and "Four Comedies" are the most prominent. His work often became a source of inspiration for artists, and a large number of paintings after the Renaissance were drawn from his creations. The following small editor will take you through 40 paintings to relive Shakespeare's classic drama.
▲ Shakespeare
Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth
Shakespeare's tragic works are the most brilliant strokes of his works, and most of the characters in the play end with death, showing a sad and majestic and shocking momentum. The "Four Tragedies" refer to Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. These works focus on shaping a group of tragic protagonists of the new era: they wake up from the imprisonment and obscurity of the Middle Ages, but they cannot overcome the limitations of the times and themselves, and finally encounter inevitable defeat and sacrifice in the struggle against the environment and the inner disparity.
Hamlet
Hamlet is a tragic work by Shakespeare between 1599 and 1602 that tells the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark avenging his father. This is the longest of all Shakespeare's plays, and shakespeare's most prestigious play, with its profound tragic significance, complex characters, and rich and perfect tragic artistic techniques, representing the highest achievement of Western Renaissance literature as a whole.
Synopsis of the script
Hamlet suddenly received news of his father's death while attending school in Germany, and his uncle Claudius took the throne and married Hamlet's mother, Jotrud, in a hurry. This series of events filled Hamlet with doubt and dissatisfaction. Hamlet then encounters the ghost of his father, explains to him that he was poisoned by the new king Claudius, and demands that Hamlet take revenge.
Hamlet uses the pretense of madness to cover himself and proves through "play-within-a-play" that his uncle is indeed the enemy of his father. After mistakenly killing her sweetheart Ophelia's father, Ophelia commits suicide by throwing herself into the river in grief, and Hamlet has to accept a duel with her brother Leotis.
At this time, Hamlet's mother, Jotrud, was poisoned by drinking the poisonous wine prepared by the new king for Hamlet, and Both Hamlet and Leotis were poisoned by the sword. Hamlet, who learned of the poisoning, killed Claudius before his death and asked his friend Hollasch to tell his story to future generations.
Related works
Henry Fuseley, Horatio, Hamlet and the Ghost, 1789
Henri Fuseli (1741-1825), Swiss-born English painter. Horatio, Hamlet and the Ghost is a painting that depicts Hamlet's friend Horatio, concerned about his friend's safety, and tries to prevent Hamlet from leaving with the ghost of the old king. In the play, the two encounter the ghost of the old king at the castle guard, and the ghost confesses that he was poisoned by Claudius and demands that Hamlet take revenge.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Hamlet and Ophelia, 1858 Pen Drawing
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), an important representative painter of the pre-Raphaelite school in England in the 19th century. The painting "Hamlet and Ophelia" is taken from the first verse of chapter 3, ophelia obeys her father, thinks that it is in his favor to break up with Hamlet, and returns the love souvenir of the two to Hamlet.
Nicolai A. Abildgaard, Hamlet Shows Mother Jotrud the Ghost of His Father, 1778
Nicolai A. Abildgaard (1743–1809), Danish neoclassical and historical painter. Queen Jotrud, Hamlet's mother, remarried to the new king, Hamlet's uncle, less than two months after the old king's death, and later died of poisoning by drinking the poisoned wine the new king had prepared for Hamlet.
Coke Smyth, "Hamlet Kills Polonius by Mistake"
The painting depicts Hamlet killing Polonius by mistake. Polonius is a courtier and the father of Hamlet's lover Ophelia, who plays a role in the play, starting with his death, and the whole story tends to be tense.
John Everett Milles, "Ophelia"
John Everett Millais (1829–1896), English painter and one of the founders of pre-Raphaelite school. Ophelia depicts the heroine after drowning. Ophelia is one of Shakespeare's beautiful female representatives, and she and Hamlet are in love but hopelessly united. As part of Hamlet's crazy revenge plan, she is ruthlessly abandoned by Hamlet, and coupled with her father's death, she falls into insanity and eventually falls into the water and drowns.
▲ Alexander Cabanell's Ophelia
Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889), French academic painter. The painting also shows the scene of Ophelia falling into the water, the picture is beautiful and sad, and the girl's helpless look is sighing.
Othello
Written around 1603, Othello tells the tragedy of the love affair between the Venetian general Othello and his wife, Desdemona. Shakespeare perfectly presents the figure of Othello from beginning to end, profoundly showing the struggle between two opposing emotions in him.
Othello was a valiant member of the Principality of Venice. He falls in love with desdemona, the daughter of the Elders. Because Othello was a black man and the age difference between the two was too great, the marriage was not allowed, so the two had to marry privately.
Othello has a sinister flag officer, Iagu, who is bent on getting rid of Othello. He first informed the elders, but unexpectedly facilitated the marriage of the two.
He also provoked Othello's relationship with Desdemona, saying that another vice admiral, Cassio, had an unusual relationship with Desdemona, and had forged so-called promises. Othello believed it to be true and strangled his wife in anger. When he learned the truth, he drew his sword in remorse and fell to Desdemona's side.
Ludovico Marchetti", Othello watercolor
Ludovico Marchetti (1853–1909), Italian painter. The two protagonists in this painting hold a handkerchief embroidered with strawberries on one side, which is an important prop in the play. The handkerchief was originally a promise from Othello to Desdemona, but was later designed by Iagu as evidence of a feud between Kathio and Desdemona, which eventually led to a tragedy.
Antonio Muñoz Degrain in "Desdemona"
Antonio Muñoz Degrain (1840–1924), Spanish painter. Desdemona is Othello's young and beautiful wife, and she marries Othello because she adores and loves him, but is eventually killed by Othello.
Antonio Muñoz Degrain, "Stimona and Othello"
Antonio Muñoz Degrain (1840–1924), Spanish painter. Desdemona and Othello is the scene before Othello strangles his wife, Sturmona. While Desdemona was still asleep, Othello whispered into the room, then woke her up, accused her of infidelity, and strangled her to death on the bed.
▲ Adolf Witz's "Othello", this painting is also a scene showing Othello strangling his wife Stimona.
William Salter, Othello Weeping At Desdemona's Corpse, 1857
William Salter (1804–1875), English portrait painter. The painting depicts Othello weeping beside Desdemona's corpse, sad to learn of his wife's death.
King Lear
Written in 1605 and based on an ancient legend in 8th-century England, King Lear is known for its boldness in Shakespeare's plays, which depict the sad story of King Lear and his three daughters.
The elderly King Lear wanted to abdicate, hoping to divide the land among his three daughters. The eldest daughter, Cornaril, and the second daughter, Reagan, went to great lengths to praise the king and obtained all the fiefs, and the younger daughter Cordelia was expelled by Lear for expressing her simple and sincere feelings.
The King of France, who had come to propose, had a discerning vision and married Cordelia as Empress. After leaving office, King Lear was thrown out of the house by two filial daughters. The younger daughter went to the rescue in France after learning of King Lear's plight. Cordelia led the army to attack, and the father and daughter were reunited. But the war was unfavorable, Cordelia was killed, and King Lear was too sad to collapse and die.
Gustav Pope, "The Three Daughters of King Lear"
Gustav Pope (1831–1910) was an Austrian-born English painter. On the left side of the painting is King Lear's eldest daughter, Gonaril, and second daughter Reagan, and on the right is his youngest daughter Cordelia. The eldest daughter of the sword, Gonarrell, and the second daughter, Reagan, won his favor and divided the land, but expelled the elderly King Lear from the palace, and in the final duel, the two vicious daughters also died.
John Gilbert, "Cordelia in King Lear's Palace"
John Gilbert (1817–1897), English painter. The painting depicts a scene in which, upon learning that Cordelia had been stripped of her inheritance, the Duke of Burgundy withdrew her marriage and the King of France married her for her honesty.
Edwin Austin Abbey's Farewell to Cordelia
Edwin Austin Abbey (1852–1911) was an American muralist, illustrator and oil painter. Cordelia's Farewell depicts a scene before King Lear's young daughter leaves King Lear's palace.
▲ William Dyce, "King Lear and the Trickster in the Storm"
William Dyce (1806–1864), English painter. In the drama "King Lear", there is a funny character "Trick man", who has been with King Lear after he was expelled from the palace. Although the trickster is funny on the outside, he is deeply intelligent, and he calls King Lear "Old Uncle", and always taunts and exhorts him sharply when the old king makes mistakes. When the final tragedy came, the man died for King Lear without hesitation.
James Barry, King Lear Wept over Cordelia's Death, 1786-1788
James Barry (1741–1806), Irish painter. The painting depicts the elderly King Lear weeping after Cordelia was killed, holding his beloved little daughter and weeping.
Macbeth
Created in 1606, Macbeth is based on an ancient story from the Scottish Chronicles by the English historian Raphael Hollingson, and tells the story of Macbeth, an ambitionist who usurped the throne.
General Macbeth, the cousin of King Duncan of Scotland, returned from fighting the king's rebellion and defending against the invasion, and encountered three witches on the way. The witch said that he would be crowned king but would have no heirs to inherit, but that the descendants of his colleague General Banko would become kings.
Macbeth was an ambitious hero who murdered Duncan at the instigation of his wife and became king. In order to hide his eyes and ears and prevent others from seizing the throne, he killed Duncan's bodyguards step by step, killing Banco and other innocent people.
Fear and suspicion made Macbeth more and more ghostly and cold in his heart. Lady Macbeth died of insanity, but Macbeth did not feel the slightest sadness. In the face of rebellion, Macbeth faced a siege by Duncan's son and the English army, and ended up with a slash of his head.
▲ Ascerio, "Macbeth and Bancoe First Encounter Three Witches"
Chasserio (1819-1856), French Romantic painter. "Macbeth and Bancoe's First Encounter with Three Witches" depicts a scene in which General Macbeth encounters three witches on his way home from the battlefield, and this scene plays a decisive role in the fate of the play, and it is precisely because of listening to the witch's prophecy that Macbeth, driven by ambition and his wife, step by step to the path of tyrant.
Henry Fusely, Macbeth, Bancor, and the Three Witches
Henri Fuseli (1741–1825) was a Swiss-born English painter. The painting also depicts General Macbeth encountering three witches on his way home from the battlefield.
George Cattermore, "Macbeth Instructs to Kill Bancoe's Murderer"
George Cattermore (1800–1868), English painter. The painting depicts Macbeth's murder of Banko. General Bancor was Macbeth's colleague, and in the witch's prophecy, Macbeth would have no heirs to inherit the throne, but the descendants of his colleague General Bancor would become kings. Unwilling to make a wedding dress for others, Macbeth instructs his cronies to kill Banko, thus beginning a bloody road of no return.
Henry Fosselli, Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking, 1784
Henri Fuseli (1741–1825) was a Swiss-born English painter. The scene depicting Lady Macbeth sleepwalking with a torch. Mrs. Macbeth's character in the play is characterized as a cruel and vicious woman, the direct factor and culprit in Macbeth's tragedy, she is ambitious and has a strong desire for power, incites and helps Macbeth to ascend to the throne.
Ascerio, Macbeth Sees Bancoe's Ghost, 1854
Xasario (1819–1856) was a French romantic painter. The painting depicts Macbeth seeing Bancoe's ghost at a banquet. Banquo's ghost first appeared at a banquet after Macbeth's coronation and sat on the throne where Macbeth was supposed to sit. After Macbeth usurped the throne, he committed a series of crimes, and his heart was always surrounded by fear.
Henry Fusely, The Illusions of Macbeth, 1773-1774
Henri Fuseli (1741-1825), Swiss-born English painter. The painting also depicts Macbeth seeing Banquo's ghost, which Macbeth alone can see, a great fear he cannot escape.
Four comedies: "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Merchant of Venice", "Everyone's Happy", "Twelfth Night"
In terms of comedy, Shakespeare also achieved a high degree. Optimism is the tone of Shakespeare's comedy creation. In his comedy, there are beautiful ideals of humanists and a vision of a bright future for mankind. His four major comedies are: "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Merchant of Venice", "Everyone Is Happy", and "Twelfth Night".
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is the last and most mature comedy of William Shakespeare's youth. The whole drama is relaxed, and in general, it is a story of "messing with mandarin ducks".
Two young men, Lassander and Dimitrius, fall in love with Homiya at the same time, and Homiya is in love with Lassander, and her friend Helena is in love with Dimitrius.
Homia and Rashander elope into the forest, followed by Dimitrius and Helena. This forest was originally inhabited by the fairy king Oberon, the fairy queen Titania and the elves who served them, and the fairy king sent the elf to force him to fetch the "magic juice" to tease the fairy queen.
This magic juice has such magic: if it drips on the eyelids of the sleeper, he will wake up and fall in love with the creature he sees for the first time. The appearance of the magic juice has completely misaligned the love of the four young people.
Perhaps the most dramatic plot in the story is the absurd "love" between the fairy queen and a weaver who breaks into the forest under the influence of magic juice. The elf Forced the Weaver into an even more ridiculously stupid donkey, and the Fairy Queen saw the donkey when she woke up after touching the magic juice, so he received the Grace of the Fairy Queen.
Finally, according to the will of the Immortal King, the magic power was lifted, the lover finally became a family, and the immortal world and the human world returned to peace.
Henry Fuseli's "Titania and donkey's head"
Henri Fuseli (1741–1825) was a Swiss-born English painter. Henry Fuseli painted several works for A Midsummer Night's Dream. The scene depicted in Titania and the Donkey's Head Botong is the scene where the fairy queen Titania wakes up after touching the magic juice and sees Botong and falls in love with him, she gently hugs the donkey's head Botong, surrounded by fairies serving her, and there are fairies and elves dancing at her feet.
Joseph Noel Paton, "Oberon's Quarrel with Titania"
Joseph Noel Paton (1821–1901) was a Scottish painter, illustrator and sculptor. Oberon and Titania are the fairy kings and queens of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and a quarrel arises over a "change of children" (legend has it that the immortals often steal beautiful children at night to become waiters), which leads to a series of dramatic stories that follow.
William Blake, "The Fairies Dancing Around Oberon, Titania, and Forcer," 1786
William Blake (1757–1827), English poet and painter. The painting depicts the joyful dancing scenes of the fairies, and Shakespeare in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" injects the thoughts and feelings of ordinary people into the nobles, elves, immortals, cobwebs, moths and other creatures, based on which to create a good, flesh-and-blood artistic image.
John Simmons, "Homia and Lassander", 1870
John Simmons (1823–1876) was an English small-scale painter and illustrator. Homiya and Lassander are lovers who elope into the forest in order to rebel against the arranged marriage. Among them, Hemiah is the representative of Shakespeare's new bourgeois women, and her courageous struggle against patriarchy is a reconsidering of the status and rights of women in the emerging bourgeoisie.
Washington Allston, "Homia and Helena," 1818
Washington Allston (1779–1843), American painter and poet. Hao Mia and Helena are a pair of good friends in the play, but they are entangled in love with the two young people.
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice, written around 1596-1597, is a comedy of great irony. The play portrays the Jewish merchant Shylock, a typical image of a ruthless usurer who is only interested in profit, and also reflects the contradiction between the commercial bourgeoisie and the usurers in the early days of capitalism.
The venetian merchant Antonio borrowed money from the Jewish loan shark Shylock in order to fulfill the marriage of his friend Bassanio. Since Antonio never wanted interest on loans and helped Shylock's daughter Jessica elope, the resentful Sherlock took the opportunity to take revenge, pretending not to have interest, but if overdue, he would cut a pound of flesh from Antonio.
Unfortunately, the news of Antonio's merchant shipwreck came, the funds were not working well, and the loan could not be repaid. Sherlock went to court to sue Antonio for keeping his promise. In order to save Antonio's life, Bassanio's fiancée Portia pretended to be a lawyer, and she agreed to Sherlock's request, but demanded that the pound of meat cut must be exactly one pound of meat, no more nor less, let alone bloodshed. Sherlock loses the case because he cannot enforce it, and the victim loses his property instead.
▲ Thomas Sally, Sherlock and Portia, 1835
Thomas S. Sully (1783–1872), American portrait painter. The Portia depicted in this painting is a female figure of Shakespeare's new era. In order to aid her husband Bassanio's friend Antonio, she dressed as a man and appeared as a legal adviser to the court, adjudicating Sherlock's case, with courage and insight, both to maintain the dignity of the law and to punish the wicked.
John Everett Millais, "Portia played by Kate Dolan"
John Everett Millais (1829–1896), English painter and one of the representative painters of the Pre-Raphaelite school. The painting depicts the beautiful and intelligent Portia, played by Kate Dolan.
Maurycy Gottlieb, Sherlock and Jessica, 1876
Maurycy Gottlieb (1856–1879) was a Polish Romantic painter. The painting depicts the Jewish merchant Shylock and his daughter Jessica, who falls in love with Antonio's friend Lorenzo and elopes with Lorenzo with Sherlock's possessions.
▲Portrait of Jessica
"Everyone is Happy"
"Everybody Rejoices" is a famous early comedy created by Shakespeare, which mainly depicts the story of the exiled duke's daughter Rosalynn who goes to the forest to find her father and her love. The title "Everybody Rejoices" reflects Shakespeare's ideal of victory over evil.
Ignoring his brotherhood, Frederick usurped his brother's position as duke, drove the duke away, and forced him into exile in the forest. The exiled Duke's daughter, Rosslyn, falls in love with Orlando, who was abused by his elder brother Oliver.
But soon Rotherine was also banished and had to flee to the Arden Forest disguised as a man, where she later met Orlando unexpectedly. Orlando resented with Virtue, saved his brother, made Oliver Tianliang discover, and fell in love with Celia, The daughter of Frederick, a cousin of Rosslyn.
They have been living in the forest and help Rotherine find her father. In the end, Frederick was ordered by the hermit, repented, and returned the throne to his brother, Orlando and Rotherine, Oliver and Celia, the shepherd Sylvie and the shepherd Febi, the clown touchstone and the village girl Audrey, the four lovers of the four lovers, who were happy to win the evil with good.
William Mulready, The Seventh Order of Life, 1836-1838
William Mulready (1786–1863), Irish painter. "The Seventh Order of Life" is from the seventh scene of the second act of "Everyone Is Happy", Shakespeare borrowed the role of Jacques to propose that life is divided into seven stages of infant to old man and then return to childhood: the whole world is a big stage, all men and women are just some actors; they all have times when they are off, and there are also times when they are on the scene; a person plays several roles in his life, and his performance can be divided into seven periods.
Francis Hayman, "Rosalyn and Celia Go to Watch Orlando and the Samurai Charles Fight"
Francis Hayman (1708–1776) was an English painter and illustrator. The painting depicts Rosalind and Celia going to watch Orlando compete with the samurai Charles. Orlando's eldest brother wanted to monopolize his father's inheritance, so he arranged for the samurai Charles to injure or even kill his brother in a wrestling match. Orlando was blessed not only to defeat Charles with ease, but also to meet Rotherine, who fell in love with him at first sight.
Robert Walker Macbeth, "Rosaryn"
Robert Walker Macbeth (1848–1910), Scottish painter. In "Everybody Rejoices", Shakespeare expresses Rosalyn's happy and shy feelings for Orlando in an interesting form, so that The image of Rossilyn is deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Walter Deverell, Orlando and Rotherine, 1853
Walter Deverell (1827–1854), English painter. In the play, Rossilyn fell in love with Orlando at first sight while watching him compete with the samurai Charles, fled to the Arden Forest and met Orlando unexpectedly, and finally the two had lovers and eventually became a family.
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night is the end of Shakespeare's early comedy. This work depicts the story of a pair of separated twins who encounter each other, and expresses the beauty of life and the beauty of love in a lyrical and romantic tone.
Sibassin and Viola are identical-looking twins. In a sailing accident, the two were separated. Viola dressed as a man and went to the Duke of Ossino as a maid, and proposed to the countess Olivia on his behalf, but Olivia fell in love with Viola, who proposed to the surrogate.
Olivia's uncle insisted on marrying her to the stupid rich Andrew, and encouraged Andrew to duel with Viola. Andrew and the others want to duel Viola, but mistake their brother Sibassin for Viola, and Olivia mistakes Sibassin for Viola, and the two secretly marry for a hundred years.
In the end, Sibassin and Viola are reunited, and the Duke of Osino is touched by Viola's character and marries her, and everyone gets a happy ending.
Daniel Maclise, "Marvolio and Miss Count"
Daniel Maclise (1806–1870), Irish painter. The painting mainly depicts two characters, Marvolio and Miss Count. In the play, Marvrio is the grand housekeeper of The Count's Olivia's house, and is teased for offending Miss Count's uncle, tricked into wearing disgusting yellow stockings, and courting Miss Count, with ugly results.
Arthur Boyd Houghton, Toby Belch Assists Andrew, 1854
Arthur Boyd Houghton (1836–1875), English painter. The painting depicts a scene in which Toby Belch, the uncle of Miss Earl Olivia, encourages Andrew and Viola to duel.
Francis Wheatley, Twelfth Night, 1771–1772
Francis Wheatley (1747–1801) was an English portrait and landscape painter. The painting depicts Viola and Andrew dueling.
Walter Hawell DeFreyer, "Twelfth Night"
Walter Hauele DeFreyr (1827–1854), English painter. The painting depicts a clown in the play, often teasing the grand butler Marvolio.
Reprint Statement: This article is reproduced from "Artron Art Network"