Romanticism1884
Romeo and Juliet
Frank Bernard Dicksee
Curator's Eye
"The work is distinguished by its masterful rendering of textiles and the use of twilight, symbolizing the imminent end of innocence and the lives of the two lovers."
A quintessential example of Victorian Romanticism, Dicksee’s masterpiece captures the final farewell of the Verona lovers with tragic sensuality and Pre-Raphaelite virtuosity.
Analysis
The painting illustrates Act III, Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s tragedy, at the precise moment when Romeo must leave Juliet at dawn after their wedding night. Dicksee chooses not to paint death, but the suspended moment that precedes it, charging the image with immense emotional tension. The fidelity to the text is absolute: one feels the agonizing choice between the lark, messenger of the dreaded day, and the nightingale that Juliet pretends to hear to keep her lover. This scene is the dramatic pivot where love transforms into tragedy.
Historical analysis reveals a deep influence of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, although the painting was completed toward the end of the 19th century. Dicksee uses a rich palette and opulent textures to magnify the narrative. The contrast between the radiant youth of the faces and the heaviness of the velvet and silk fabrics emphasizes human fragility in the face of rigid social structures and the ancestral hatreds of the Capulets and Montagues. The balcony becomes a porous boundary between the sacred refuge of the room and the mortal danger of the outside world.
The psychological dimension is explored through body language. The embrace is not just passionate; it is desperate. Romeo, with one leg already over the balustrade, belongs to the space of departure and exile, while Juliet attempts to pull him back into the intimacy of the alcove. Their eyes do not quite meet; they both seem lost in the premonition of their fatal destiny. Dicksee manages to capture this Victorian melancholy, where beauty is intrinsically linked to death and loss.
The explanation of the Shakespearean myth is transcended here by an "Aesthetic Movement" sensibility. The artist does not merely tell a story; he creates a sensory atmosphere. The climbing flowers, the ornamental patterns of the carpet, and the fineness of the balcony’s ironwork all contribute to this "art for art's sake" intention. The work becomes a universal icon of romantic love, capable of touching the viewer far beyond specific knowledge of the play, by crystallizing the universality of sacrifice through love.
A technical secret lies in the use of light: Dicksee used outdoor models to study the exact effects of sunrise on skin tones but finalized the painting in the studio to saturate the colors. This hybrid technique gives the scene that dreamlike, almost unreal aura characteristic of late Romanticism. The light does not just come from the outside; it seems to emanate from Juliet's white dress, designating her as the source of purity in the painting.
A hidden detail can be found in the motifs of the tapestry and carpet. Dicksee inserted subtle floral symbols: red roses for consuming passion, but also elements reminiscent of lilies, symbols of death and funerals in Victorian iconography. These visual cues foreshadow the tragic end of the lovers in the Capulet tomb. The artist plays on a double reading where the luxury of the decor masks an imminent macabre reality.
The choice of model for Juliet is another studio secret. Dicksee sought a beauty that embodied both Italian nobility and Pre-Raphaelite fragility. He produced numerous sketches to achieve that expression of total devotion bordering on religious ecstasy. It is said that Romeo's pose was inspired by Italian Renaissance movement studies, seeking to give his body athletic tension while maintaining poetic grace, a difficult balance to achieve without appearing theatrical.
The history of the painting’s reception is also fascinating. Although criticized by some for being excessively sentimental, it was voted "Britain's most romantic painting" in a modern poll. This lasting success hides the fact that Dicksee had to struggle against the emergence of Impressionism and Modernism, defending high-level academic narrative painting until the end. The painting is a manifesto of resistance against the loss of subject and emotion in art.
Join Premium.
UnlockQuiz
Although painted in 1884, Dicksee’s masterpiece employs a chromatic saturation technique and a rendering of textures that betray the influence of an artistic movement that was declining at the time. Which one?
Discover
