Romeo and Juliet
Date1869-1870
Artist
Ford Madox Brown
(English painter and designer, 1821–1893)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions53 3/8 × 37 in. (135.6 × 94 cm)
frame: 62 1/2 x 44 1/2 in. (158.8 x 113 cm)
frame: 62 1/2 x 44 1/2 in. (158.8 x 113 cm)
Credit LineSamuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935
Object number1935-1
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextThe work of Shakespeare was particularly revered by the Pre-Raphaelites. In this painting, Brown captures the romantic and poignant moment in the early dawn on Juliet’s balcony, when Romeo parts from his love for what will be the final time. The composition has the dramatic awkwardness which is often present in Brown’s work, but which serves to allow his subjects a sense of realistic immediacy. This is countered by the wealth of “Pre-Raphaelite” detail, including the apple blossoms, an example of the emphasis on a close observation of the natural world.
