Ophelia, John Everett Millais (1851–1852) | Mini Series

Ophelia, John Everett Millais (1851–1852)
6x6 Mini Series

Sir John Everett Millais’s Ophelia is one of the most haunting icons of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Drawn from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the painting depicts Ophelia as she drifts toward death, singing softly as the brook pulls her under. Her open arms and upward gaze recall the serenity of saints and martyrs, yet her pale figure is framed by wildflowers and tangled weeds that speak of fragility and loss.

Millais painted the background along the banks of the Hogsmill River in Surrey, capturing every blossom, branch, and ripple with near-botanical accuracy. Into this vivid landscape he placed the model Elizabeth Siddal, posed fully clothed in a bathtub to achieve the ethereal stillness of the drowning figure. The result is both meticulously natural and deeply symbolic: the flowers reference Shakespeare’s description of Ophelia’s garlands, while the added poppy evokes sleep and death.

Though initially met with mixed reviews at the Royal Academy in 1852, Ophelia is now regarded as a masterpiece of 19th-century art. Its combination of literary drama, Pre-Raphaelite luminosity, and unsettling beauty influenced generations of artists—from Waterhouse to Dalí—and continues to fascinate with its mingling of innocence, eroticism, and mortality.

Cotton and polyester canvas on Radiata pine wood frame sourced from renewable forests. Includes back mounting.