Hamlet (Beggarstaffs)
1894 · Colour lithograph (Les Maîtres de l'Affiche plate after the poster) · Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- The Beggarstaffs (1894–1899)
- Year
- 1894
- Medium
- Colour lithograph (Les Maîtres de l'Affiche plate after the poster)
- Original size
- 39 × 29 cm
- Collection
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (Les Maîtres de l'Affiche, reduced plate)
- Movement
- Belle Époque
Hamlet stands in black with a skull in his hands, his figure cut from flat paper shapes against a plain brown ground, the word Hamlet lettered below. The Beggarstaffs, the brothers-in-law William Nicholson and James Pryde, made the design in 1894 for W. S. Hardy's touring production of the play, cutting the figure from coloured paper and pasting it down; their posters were the most radical of the decade, and most of their designs were never printed. This is the reduced version issued in 1896 as plate 107 of Les Maîtres de l'Affiche, printed by Chaix in Paris; the original was about two metres tall. The impression reproduced is from the Bibliothèque nationale de France's copy of the series.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A black cut-paper figure on brown, severe and modern, for a study, library or hallway at 12×18 or 16×24 in thin black, no mat. It suits a white or dark grey wall and pairs with Mucha's Hamlet for a contrast.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Belle Époque painting
- Era
- 19th century (1894)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- decorative, sophisticated
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 12×18. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — dark wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Hamlet in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Hamlet painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
