Ophelia

For over a year, I've been fascinated by this painting. Because of the Millais exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum last year, this painting seemed to be everywhere on posters in busstops.


John Everett Millais, Ophelia 1851-1852

Ophelia (as in: Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet)has been a muse to many painters in the nineteenth century(Millais, Waterhouse). Especially her tragic, mysterious death seems to be an inspiration to artists.


John William Waterhouse, Ophelia 1894

This openingscene of the movie The Hours (2002), with Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf, somehow reminds me of Ophelia's death too:



And this Kylie Minogue musicvideo from the 90's is also clearly inspired by Ophelia (awful song though):