Perdita

Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie depicts Perdita from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, one of numerous Shakespearean subjects that occupied this Anglo-American painter throughout his career. Leslie, born in London to American parents, specialized in literary and theatrical subjects that combined narrative wit with careful period costume. Romanticism (c.1800–1850) privileged emotion, imagination, and the sublime over classical reason. Romanticism embraced a wider range of subjects than any previous movement, from medieval legend to contemporary politics, from sublime landscape to intimate genre scenes, united by emotional intensity rather than formal type.

Leslie renders the Shakespearean heroine with the detailed costume work and warm coloring characteristic of his literary paintings. His handling balances theatrical presentation with naturalistic characterization.