Hamlet et Ophélie

Hamlet and Ophelia from 1840 at the Louvre shows another scene from Delacroix's lifelong engagement with Shakespeare's tragedy. The relationship between the melancholy prince and the doomed Ophelia embodied Romantic themes of love and madness. Delacroix's method combined rapid, gestural underpainting with careful final glazing, creating surfaces of extraordinary richness and warmth; his studio practice was meticulous despite the apparent spontaneity of the results.

The paired figures are rendered with dramatic atmosphere and rich palette. Delacroix's handling creates the emotional tension of Shakespeare's scene.