Artists Visual Guide to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
DailyArt Magazine offers a visual exploration of artworks influenced by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, composed between 1595 and 1596. This work, the 12th play and 5th comedy by Shakespeare, was first published in quarto by Thomas Fisher in 1600. The Globe Theatre hosted its inaugural performance on January 1, 1605. The article highlights interpretations by artists such as Vittore Carpaccio, John Simmons, Washington Allston, Henry Fuseli, and Marc Chagall. Notable pieces include Carpaccio's The Visit of Hippolyta (c. 1495), Simmons' Hermia and Lysander (1861), and Allston's Hermia and Helena (pre-1818) at the Smithsonian. Themes of love, identity, and authority are explored, set against the backdrop of Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding, featuring love triangles and fairy conflicts. The Midsummer timeframe is noted as June 19-25.
Key facts
- Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream between 1595-1596.
- The play was first printed in 1600 by Thomas Fisher in quarto format.
- First performance at the Globe Theatre was on January 1, 1605.
- Vittore Carpaccio's The Visit of Hippolyta (c. 1495) is at the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris.
- John Simmons painted Hermia and Lysander (1861) and Hermia and the Fairies (1861).
- Washington Allston's Hermia and Helena (before 1818) is at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
- Henry Fuseli's Lysander with Helena and Hermia (1741-1825) is in a private collection.
- Marc Chagall's Midsummer Night's Dream (1939) is in a private collection.
Entities
Artists
- William Shakespeare
- Vittore Carpaccio
- John Simmons
- Washington Allston
- Henry Fuseli
- Marc Chagall
- Sir Joseph Noel Paton
- Edwin Austin Abbey
- Richard Dadd
- Robert Smirke
- Sir Edwin Henry Landseer
- Francis Wheatley
- John William Waterhouse
- Moyses Walens
- E. K. Chambers
- Thomas Fisher
- Edmund Spenser
- Ovid
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- Nick Bottom
- Francis Flute
- Robin Goodfellow
- Puck
- Theseus
- Hippolyta
- Egeus
- Hermia
- Lysander
- Helena
- Demetrius
- Oberon
- Titania
Institutions
- DailyArt Magazine
- Jacquemart-André Museum
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Yale University Art Gallery
- British Library Trust
- Scottish National Gallery
- Louvre
- National Gallery of Victoria
- Folger Shakespeare Library
Locations
- Athens
- Paris
- France
- Washington, DC
- USA
- New Haven, CT
- London
- UK
- Edinburgh
- Melbourne
- Australia