The Feigned Death of Juliet

The Feigned Death of Juliet

bedchamber, Capulet, characters, Count Paris, domestic interior, Frederic Leighton (1830-1896), Friar Laurence, Juliet, Lady Capulet, medieval dress, music, musical instruments, musicians, nurse, play, Romeo and Juliet, SA, Shakespearean characters, South Australia, tragedy, William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

This oil on canvas painting by nineteenth-century artist Frederic Leighton was acquired by the Art Gallery of South Australia with funds from the Elder Bequest in 1899. Titled ‘The Feigned Death of Juliet’ it depicts a scene from William Shakespeare’s tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet'. In Act IV Scene V of the play, Count Paris arrives at the Capulet house with Friar Laurence to claim Juliet as his bride. However, instead of finding her ready to proceed to the church to be wed, he discovers Juliet seemingly lifeless in her chamber. In Leighton’s painting, Juliet is shown lying on a bed surrounded by her mother, her nurse, her father and Count Paris. Friar Laurence hovers in the corner and a band of musicians congregate by the open door with their instruments. Although the play was written in the 1590s, it is set in Verona in an earlier (but unspecified) period. The characters in the painting are all depicted wearing styles of dress typical of the High Middle Ages.

Leighton, Frederic

Art Gallery of South Australia

Art Gallery of South Australia

1856 - 1858

Art Gallery of South Australia

Oil on Canvas, 113.6 x 175.2cm;
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