Ophelia

Ophelia—the drowned daughter of Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet—was one of the most frequently painted Pre-Raphaelite subjects, most famously realized by Millais in 1851–52. Hughes painted his version around 1852, almost simultaneously, placing the two works in direct dialogue. The Pre-Raphaelites were drawn to Ophelia because she embodied their aesthetic interests: a literary subject of intense emotional power, a natural setting requiring meticulous botanical observation, a young woman in states of extremity, and the challenge of rendering water, flowers, and a figure together. The subject also allowed depiction of female madness—a culturally loaded Victorian theme—sanctioned by Shakespeare's authority. Hughes's version is held at Manchester Art Gallery, one of the great regional repositories of Victorian painting.

Oil on canvas over a white ground, enabling the saturated cool blues and greens of water and vegetation. Hughes's thin glazing technique produces the luminous surface that makes his water and foliage glow.