The Enchanted Island, Before the Cell of Prospero, Act I, Scene I, The Tempest, from Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery

Date1797

after George Romney (English, 1734-1802)

Artist Benjamin Smith (English, 1775-1833)

CultureEnglish

MediumStipple engraving and etching

DimensionsImage: 19 1/2 x 24 13/16 in. (49.53 x 63.02 cm)
Sheet: 23 1/8 x 34 3/8 in. (58.74 x 87.31 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, Matthew Vassar Fund

On View

Not on view

Period18th c

Classification(s)

SignedSigned (on plate, LL): B. Smith; (on plate, LL): Painted by G. Romney

InscribedInscribed (in plate, at bottom): Shakspeare / Tempest. Act I, Scene i / The inchanted Island: Before the Cell of Prospero. ----Prospero and Miranda. / Ari. Not a soul / But felt a fever of the mad, and play'd / Some bricks of desparation: All, but mariners, Plung'd in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel, / Then all a-fire with me: the King's son, Ferdinand, With hair up-starting (then like reeds, not hair) Was the first man that leap'd: cry'd, Hell is empty, And all the devils are here. / Pubd. Sept. 29. 1797. by J. and J. Boydell. Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; and No. 90, Cheapside.

Vassar Exhibitions

'For through the painter you must see his skill': Shakespeare in Art from the Permanent Collection

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