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Othello and Iago

Hart

1857

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Impressionism Realism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

Othello and Iago is a 1857 watercolor by Hart, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Hart
When & what style?: 1857 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This painting shows two men standing side by side. The one on the left wears a long red robe with blue pants and a green turban, holding a small object in his hand. The man on the right is dressed in a mix of armor and clothing—green stockings, a brown and white tunic, and a blue sash—with a helmet tucked under his arm. Behind them, a stone tower and buildings fade into a light background. The man on the right looks like a soldier, while the one on the left seems more like a merchant or traveler. Their clothes suggest different worlds meeting in one scene. Next, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more works like this.

The story of this work

Overview

A watercolour by Solomon Alexander Hart from 1857 portrays Othello and Iago from Shakespeare’s *Othello*, Act III, Scene 3, signed and dated by the artist. The work was exhibited in 1862 at the International Exhibition in London, where Hart noted its significance in a letter to William Smith, describing it as his finest watercolour. It was later bequeathed to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) in 1876. A related oil painting on the same subject, completed in 1855, was also displayed at the same exhibition.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Hart

Hart painted scenes from Shakespeare’s plays in watercolour in the 1850s. In Othello and Iago (1857) you can see two men locked in tense conversation, their faces lit by dramatic shadows. Hart kept the figures close and…

See the richer artist page