Hamlet and Ophelia — Compositional Study

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)

1865

Pen and brown ink on pencil and paper

17 cm (6.6 in) x 12.5 cm (4.9 in)

Collection: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, accession no.1904P401

Purchased and presented by subscribers, 1903

Ophelia pulls away, as if unwilling to engage further with a still-enamoured Hamlet, who grips her hand. She seems to reject the demands made on her in this intense and troubled relationship.

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