GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The first of Eugène Delacroix’s works based on the plays of William Shakespeare, Macbeth and the Witches, from the play Macbeth, originally published in 1606, is one of the artist’s most innovative prints. Using a scraper, Delacroix created very fine lines that give the illusion of smoke emanating from the cinders and bubbling cauldron. Light from the crackling fire illuminates the figure of Macbeth while the witches seem to fade into the smoky background. The caption, which identifies the subject from act 4, scene 1 with the famous lines “toil and trouble, fire burn, and cauldron bubble,” heightens the scene’s dramatic impact. Published in the weekly Paris arts journal L’Artiste, Delacroix’s print belonged to the widespread revival of Shakespeare in French journals, periodicals, magazines, and books in the 1800s, which was made possible by the new printing medium of lithography.
Excerpt from
Nicole Myers, DMA label copy, 2018.
NOTES
Additional sources: O'Neill, John P., ed. Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art distributed by Harry N. Abrams, 1991), 186, cat. no. 79. [Available online through the MetPublications, http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications/Eugene_Delacroix_1798_1863_Paintings_Drawings_and_Prints_from_North_American_Collections.]
This lithograph was Eugène Delacroix's first experiment using a play by William Shakespeare as his subject matter and an early test of technical virtuoso. During Delacroix's mature career, the British playwright became one of his favorite literary sources. (He created several paintings and a series of lithographic illustrations for Hamlet in 1835. "A Play within a Play" is in the Museum's collection. 2000.186.FA) Here he depicted the scene when Macbeth awaits the predictions of three witches who conjure spirits from their boiling cauldron. An earlier state of the print included the inscription, "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." [1]
[1] William Shakespeare, Macbeth, c. 1603-1607, Act 4, scene 1.
Drawn from
Loys Delteil, Delacroix: The Graphic Work, A Catalogue Raisonné, (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1997), 98.
Date (1825), title (see below), and medium (lithograph) changed according to multiple sources.
This did not change the "Object Name" in TMS. It is still "Etching." I emailed BMac to ask how to solve.
CHANGE OBJECT NAME TO PRINT (which is how others are cataloged). Works on Paper system can be revised at a later date.
Title changed to Macbeth and the Witches according to multiple websites and multiple catalogues. Foreign language title added- Macbeth Consultant les Sorcières.
Added info: 5th state
Added bibliographic sources.
Delteil, Loys. Delacroix: The Graphic Work, A Catalogue Raisonné, (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1997), 98, no. 40.
Moreau, Adolphe. E. Delacroix et son œuvre, (Paris, 1873), no. 36.
Robaut, Alfred. L'œuvre complet de Eugène Delacroix, (Paris, 1885), no. 117.
Delteil says lettering at base of third state: Lith. de G. Engelmann; Toil and Trouble/ Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. In state four, Englemann's name is removed but "Lith de" remains. In the fifth state, caption is rewritten, L'Artsite in upper margin, and beneath border line r: "IMP. BERTAUTS, R. RODIER, PARIS." Possibly add Englemann as the printer in the TMS record?
Reformatted exhibition history.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Depicted location: Scotland (nation): TGN: 7002444
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
illustration
witch
night
magic
tragedy
play
actors
shadow
fire
man
cauldron
smoke
incantation
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- The popularity of fictional tales featuring otherworldly beings and "dark arts" influenced the subject choices of Delacroix and other Romantic artists. Two years after making Macbeth and the Witches, Delacroix created another witch-related illustration for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust which shows the main characters ascending the Harz Mountains to witness an annual gathering of witches.
- The technique used to create the intensely dark, smoky atmosphere of this print is known as contre-partie. Rather than an artist drawing onto a lithographic stone with a material to bond with ink and be printed, this method requires the application of black ink over the stone's full surface and the removal of "lighter" areas with a scraper to create the illusion of depth.
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General Description
The first of Eugène Delacroix’s works based on the plays of William Shakespeare, Macbeth and the Witches, from the play Macbeth, originally published in 1606, is one of the artist’s most innovative prints. Using a scraper, Delacroix created very fine lines that give the illusion of smoke emanating from the cinders and bubbling cauldron. Light from the crackling fire illuminates the figure of Macbeth while the witches seem to fade into the smoky background. The caption, which identifies the subject from act 4, scene 1 with the famous lines “toil and trouble, fire burn, and cauldron bubble,” heightens the scene’s dramatic impact. Published in the weekly Paris arts journal L’Artiste, Delacroix’s print belonged to the widespread revival of Shakespeare in French journals, periodicals, magazines, and books in the 1800s, which was made possible by the new printing medium of lithography.
Excerpt from
Nicole Myers, DMA label copy, 2018.
Fun Facts
- The popularity of fictional tales featuring otherworldly beings and "dark arts" influenced the subject choices of Delacroix and other Romantic artists. Two years after making Macbeth and the Witches, Delacroix created another witch-related illustration for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust which shows the main characters ascending the Harz Mountains to witness an annual gathering of witches.
- The technique used to create the intensely dark, smoky atmosphere of this print is known as contre-partie. Rather than an artist drawing onto a lithographic stone with a material to bond with ink and be printed, this method requires the application of black ink over the stone's full surface and the removal of "lighter" areas with a scraper to create the illusion of depth.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Additional sources: O'Neill, John P., ed. Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art distributed by Harry N. Abrams, 1991), 186, cat. no. 79. [Available online through the MetPublications, http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications/Eugene_Delacroix_1798_1863_Paintings_Drawings_and_Prints_from_North_American_Collections.]
This lithograph was Eugène Delacroix's first experiment using a play by William Shakespeare as his subject matter and an early test of technical virtuoso. During Delacroix's mature career, the British playwright became one of his favorite literary sources. (He created several paintings and a series of lithographic illustrations for Hamlet in 1835. "A Play within a Play" is in the Museum's collection. 2000.186.FA) Here he depicted the scene when Macbeth awaits the predictions of three witches who conjure spirits from their boiling cauldron. An earlier state of the print included the inscription, "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." [1]
[1] William Shakespeare, Macbeth, c. 1603-1607, Act 4, scene 1.
Drawn from
Loys Delteil, Delacroix: The Graphic Work, A Catalogue Raisonné, (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1997), 98.
Date (1825), title (see below), and medium (lithograph) changed according to multiple sources.
This did not change the "Object Name" in TMS. It is still "Etching." I emailed BMac to ask how to solve.
CHANGE OBJECT NAME TO PRINT (which is how others are cataloged). Works on Paper system can be revised at a later date.
Title changed to Macbeth and the Witches according to multiple websites and multiple catalogues. Foreign language title added- Macbeth Consultant les Sorcières.
Added info: 5th state
Added bibliographic sources.
Delteil, Loys. Delacroix: The Graphic Work, A Catalogue Raisonné, (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1997), 98, no. 40.
Moreau, Adolphe. E. Delacroix et son œuvre, (Paris, 1873), no. 36.
Robaut, Alfred. L'œuvre complet de Eugène Delacroix, (Paris, 1885), no. 117.
Delteil says lettering at base of third state: Lith. de G. Engelmann; Toil and Trouble/ Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. In state four, Englemann's name is removed but "Lith de" remains. In the fifth state, caption is rewritten, L'Artsite in upper margin, and beneath border line r: "IMP. BERTAUTS, R. RODIER, PARIS." Possibly add Englemann as the printer in the TMS record?
Reformatted exhibition history.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Depicted location: Scotland (nation): TGN: 7002444
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
illustration
witch
night
magic
tragedy
play
actors
shadow
fire
man
cauldron
smoke
incantation
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
2000.183.FA
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object_notes_2_c-0133.xml.nores