Fossely's Lady Macbeth with a Sword
Fuseley's Lady Macbeth in Sleepwalking
Fusely clearly had a deep understanding of Lady Macbeth's character, that is, this vicious woman who was bent on killing Duncan, after doing so, also developed a little normal disgust, or only humanity. Based on this, he, like the famous actresses who used body language to represent her, used his paintbrush to truly portray the complex psychology of this "great bad woman".
Specific interpretations. One basis is Gilbert Austin's 1896 Chironomia (ora Treatiseon Rhe-toricalDelivery) – particularly useful in this context, since it is not only a tool manual, but also interprets gestures in historical continuity – and gestures in Fuseli's paintings can be considered within its framework. Here, the thumb and index finger of Mrs. Macbeth's left hand are gestured upwards, and "several other fingers are bent inward according to the strength of the speaker" (Austin, 1806, insets 45, 66, 67); at the same time, the hand is raised "at right angle to the horizon, fingers pointing upwards" (Austin, 1806, insets 64, 74). Austin called this a gesture of a mixture of disgust and accusation (acomposite.).
gestureofbothaversionandaccusa-tion）。 Fuseli's painting shows that he was showing Lady Macbeth's disgust at killing Duncan, and that macbeth was accused of murder for his seizure of the throne (Austin, 1806, insets 100, 101).
Both the doctor and the maid are in the background of Fuseli's painting. Lady Macbeth took over the foreground and held high the candle she had commanded to be "lit all night." These men, and the background, almost seemed supernatural, as the light cast on Madame Macbeth's face in the center of the canvas and over her shoulders into the thumbs and fingertips of her left hand. The model of Mrs. Macbeth of Fusely is uncertain, indicating that the gesture in the painting does not belong to an actress, but since Fusely is familiar with the performance of the Trury Street Theatre, he can make it
At the center of the painting is Lady Macbeth holding a candle, with the maid and the doctor hiding to the side in horror. One researcher explained:
Lady Macbeth held a candle.
Handmaiden And voila! Here she comes. This was exactly what she had always been; by virtue of my life oath, she was now sound asleep. Watch her carefully; stand closer.
Doctor How could she have that candle?
The maid was placed by her bedside; the lights were lit all night in her bedroom, which was her command.
Doctor, you see, her eyes are open.
But the maid' vision was closed... (Translated by Zhu Shenghao)
Fossely created many portraits of Shakespeare' works, not to mention the characters in Macbeth alone, such as Macbeth AndeuringtheVision of the ArmedHead, Macbeth and BanquoandtheWitches, and Lady Macbeth in Sleepwalking. (Lady MacbethSleepwalking) and Lady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers, among others.
Based on the description in Act 5, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth shows Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking action at the moment when she goes to wash the blood on her hands that can never be washed:
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is one of the most important portrait painters of our time. His "Lady Macbeth" is modeled after Ellen Terry (1847-1929) who portrayed Lady Macbeth. Although Ellen Terry is a famous British actress — she worked with the most famous British actress, Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905) for 24 years from the age of 31, playing many women in Shakespeare, such as Portia, Juliet, Ophelia, Desdemona, Cordelia, etc. — her role as Lady Macbeth failed. Sargent's "Lady Macbeth," which Sargent modeled for her, also didn't get much attention either. The English painters Robert Smirke (1753-1845) and Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) were modeled after Lady Macbeth, played by Lady Siddens. The German painter Johan Joseph Zoffany (1733-1810) was based on Mrs. Macbeth, played by Hannah Pritchard. Other notables include the English painter George Cat Termole (1800-1868) by Mrs. Macbeth.
Of all the painters who portrayed Madame Macbeth, perhaps the most famous was Fusely. Johann Heinrich Füssli (1741-1825) was born in Switzerland the son of a portrait and landscape painter. Fuselli received a classical education at the Caroline Academy in Zurich, but was forced to leave the country after helping his classmates expose the corruption of a magistrate. He went first to Germany and then to England. While in England, he became acquainted with the great painter Sir Joshua Reynolds and presented him with his paintings. At Reynolds' suggestion, Fuseli decided to devote himself to art. In 1770, he went on an artistic pilgrimage to Italy, where he was influenced by classical artists such as Michelangelo. In early 1779, Fuselli returned to London. In London, he was commissioned by Alderman Boydell, a publisher who was building the Shakespeare Gallery. Twenty years later, Fuselli exhibited a series of paintings on the subject of the work of the great poet John Milton, with the aim of forming a Milton Gallery comparable to Shakespeare's Gallery, but without success. However, his artistic achievements led him to be elected an alternate fellow of the Royal Academy in 1788 and a life fellow in 1804.
The famous British actress Hannah Pritchard (1711-1768) has portrayed many women in Shakespeare's plays, such as Mrs. Ann and the Duchess of York in Richard III, Desdemona, Othello's wife Desdemona in Othello, Rossilyn, the daughter of the Duke-in-exile in "Everybody Rejoices", Viola who fell in love with the Duke in "Twelfth Night", and Neliza in "The Merchant of Venice". Mrs. Pritchard first appeared as Lady Macbeth in 1747 and was the first actress to win critical acclaim for playing Lady Macbeth. However, Mrs. Macbeth is best played by Sarah Siddons (1755-1831), known as the "Goddess of Tragedy". She first appeared as Lady Macbeth on 2 February 1785 at Drury Lane The atre, London's oldest theatre, and according to the February 3 newspaper, "her energetic expression was an outpouring of her true emotions and had the strongest impact on our emotions", which "is undoubtedly one of Mrs. Siddens's noblest achievements".
Drama uses language and action to shape the characters, while painting uses color and line. Shakespeare as a painter offers a wealth of figures. However, Shakespeare has always attached great importance to portraying the personalities of the characters, and rarely depicted their appearance too much, so that many painters often borrow ready-made stage images as models.
Among the female characters portrayed by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is a very special character. Although she is not the first protagonist, her role in the development of the plot of the play is even more important than that of the first protagonist, her husband Macbeth. Macbeth was not without ambition, he saw King Duncan as "a stepping stone on my future, over which I must jump", but he lacked the evil associated with that ambition; he had great desires and wanted to use only the right means— but in fact, he was not unwilling to use improper means, but he was afraid. It was Mrs. Macbeth, perceiving his "natural apprehension, full of the smell of too much human affection" and "not daring to take the nearest shortcut", which in turn dispelled his doubts and urged and inspired him to use sinister means to achieve his ambitions. Her creepy self-aggrandizement is a reflection of her character and actions: "I have nursed a baby, and I know how a mother loves the child who sucks her milk; but when she looks at my face and smiles, I will take my nipples from its soft and tender mouth and smash its head..." It can be seen that "she may not be different from others in her hard and vicious heart, but in her calm mind and strong self-will, which makes her plan to do evil not because of weakness." Femininity changed with remorse", thus being considered "a great bad woman".
In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth warns her husband not to think or say "God bless us" or "Amen" when she is going to kill Duncan, because "thinking like this will drive us crazy"—which can cause serious conflicts between behavior and mind. Later, after killing "my father", "benevolent Duncan", her and Macbeth's psychological balance was disrupted: Macbeth hallucinated again and again, and she could not withstand the torment of fear, anxiety and guilt, and appeared sleepwalking. Shakespeare, who had a wealth of medical knowledge, explained through the doctor's mouth that this was because "abnormal behavior caused perverse disturbances; people with a guilty conscience tend to leak their secrets to the wordless pillow..."
Shakespeare vividly and credibly depicts this state of mind of Lady Macbeth, posing a great challenge to the actors who play her. However, many good actors are happy to take up this challenge to hone and show their acting skills. (Yu Fenggao)