1834
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Hamlet: The Murder of Polonius is a 1834 by Eugène Delacroix, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a dramatic scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A young man, Hamlet, stands with his back to the viewer, holding a sword and looking to his left. Behind him, a woman in a long dress and a crown on her head grabs his arm, as if trying to stop him. The scene is set in a dimly lit room with a large curtain on the left side. The woman's dress and the curtain are rendered in soft, flowing lines, while Hamlet's clothing and the sword are depicted in sharper, more defined strokes. The use of chiaroscuro, a technique that uses strong contrasts between light and dark, adds to the dramatic effect of the scene. The painting's use of light and shadow creates a sense of tension and foreboding, drawing the viewer into the emotional intensity of the moment. You might also want to explore more of Eugène Delacroix's work.
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( DEL-ə-krwah, -KRWAH; French: ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.
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