The theme of William Shakespeare's dramatic work "Romeo and Juliet" is perhaps one of the most sought-after and popular themes of all time. Only a very lazy artist or illustrator would not undertake to present to the world his own vision of famous lovers. Perhaps there is no point in retelling the storyline of the work itself, it is not that big and anyone can get acquainted with it. Or even not so, only the laziest reader has not yet read Romeo and Juliet. We will talk about paintings and illustrations for this immortal work. All the illustrations we found for “Roemo and Juliet” cannot fit into one article, therefore, we will have to divide all the material into several parts. And so part one, in which we will look at works of art about Romeo and Juliet, dating back to 1850.

Benjamin West was an Anglo-American artist and painter who specialized in historical scenes from the American Revolutionary War. He was the second president of the Royal Academy in London.

The presented painting by the English artist Joseph Wyatt of Derby “Romeo and Juliet”, written in 1790. The artist uses one of the successful lighting and color techniques, in which the background is kept in dark, muted tones, and the dramatic emphasis falls on the main characters of the picture. In this case, it is the dead body of Romeo and the flashing figure of Juliet, who, with her position, seems to close Romeo from the whole world.

Henry William Banbury was an English cartoonist of the second half of the 18th century. Educated at Westminster School and St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. After college, he discovered his talent for drawing, especially humorous paintings. The artist's more serious efforts were not as successful as his cartoon scenes English life. The presented work is called “Romeo and Juliet with Lorenzo”. Of course, it can hardly be called a caricature, but it is made in that easy manner for which all the artist’s drawings were famous.

Romeo and Juliet, James Northcote 1795

The presented painting by the English painter James Northcote is called “Romeo and Juliet”. The artist began as a watchmaker in his father's shop. Drew in free time. However, young James was so fascinated by painting that he left his father and went to London to the Royal Academy. During his creative life, the artist became the author of more than two thousand works.

The work of the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli “Romeo on Juliet's deathbed” shows one of the most dramatic moments of Shakespeare's tragedy. The work is included latest paintings masters Henry Fuseli is a bright representative of romanticism, with its secret, mystical themes, the theme of death and unrequited love. Friend of one of the brightest representatives of romanticism in literature, W. Blake. The presented work is also a classic work of the genre, examining the theme of death and love. Made in dark colors, the painting focuses the viewer’s attention on the light bodies of Romeo and Juliet.

Featured is a pencil portrait of a young girl, entitled "Juliet", by the 19th century English portrait artist, John Khater. He graduated from the Royal Academy and began exhibiting his first works there. By the early 20s of the 19th century, Harter had established himself as a talented portrait painter. His pencil portraits of women were especially popular.

The painting “The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet” was painted in 1823 by the Italian painter Francesco Hayez. Francesco Hayetz entered the history of world painting with his monumental historical canvases and exceptional delicate portraits.

Henry Selous was an English artist, illustrator and lithographer. He was interested in historical and panoramic painting. He painted a lot for historical plays. The presented work is made in a classic engraving style.

The work on display is a duet portrait of sisters Charlotte and Susan Cushman. The sisters played Romeo and Juliet. Charlotte played Romeo, Susan played Juliet.

"Romeo and Juliet" is one of the most interesting works of William Shakespeare. The tragic love of the main characters Romeo and Juliet, described by the English playwright, still causes unprecedented popularity among readers. The hostility between two wealthy families, which have been feuding for several centuries, finally ends. It ended thanks to the great and pure love of two young hearts who, by an absurd accident, left this world. The real feelings that the heroes carried through many hardships and hardships ultimately brought long-awaited peace to families.

Characteristics of the heroes of Romeo and Juliet

Main characters

Romeo

Romeo Montague is a young and passionate womanizer, frivolous but friendly. Initially, he courts the unapproachable Rosalina. He wants to achieve her favor with all his might, thinking that this is love. However, his friends are against this relationship. After meeting Juliet, Romeo forgets about Rosaline. He understands what real feelings are by looking at Juliet. Their love is full of difficulties and misunderstandings on the part of their warring parents. Romeo will do anything to be with his beloved.

Juliet

Juliet Capulet is essentially still a child. By nature she is kind and calm. For her, her parents are considered an undeniable authority. The girl completely submits to their will and does not oppose her parents’ decisions. But that was before meeting Romeo. When a young man appeared in her life, she went against her loved ones and refused to marry the eminent count. For the sake of Romeo, Juliet is ready to take even the most desperate step. Literally in an instant, a sweet child turns into a wise and judicious woman.

Minor characters

Benvolio	Romeo's cousin and friend. Benvolio is an ardent opponent of family feuds. Romeo supports him in everything, and trusts him completely. Constantly in close proximity to Romeo and Mercutio.
Mercutio	Romeo's best friend, a rake and a merry fellow, a relative of the Count of Verona. Mercutio is one of the most prominent characters in the play. By nature, sarcastic and narcissistic. The young man dies from Tybalt's sword, in Romeo's arms.
Paris	Nephew of the Prince of Verona, Count. Juliet's fiancé, also against family enmity, has a good character. He dies at the hands of Romeo at Juliet's grave, blaming the young man for the death of his bride. Relative of Mercutio.
Friar Lorenzo	Concerned about the feud between two eminent families. Lorenzo takes an active part in the development of the love relationship between Romeo and Juliet. Helps them, crowns lovers. Believes that this love will bring reconciliation to the Capulet and Montague families. Lorenzo invites Juliet to stage the performance of her death in order to find a reunion with Romeo.
Tybalt	Juliet's cousin. He supports the feud between families and seeks to further inflame the centuries-old conflict. He kills Mercutio, and he himself dies at the hands of Romeo, who avenged his friend. Negative character throughout the play.
Capulet and Montague families	Two families waging a long-term feud with each other. They don’t even remember why the conflict started. After the death of their beloved children, they make peace.

Romeo and Juliet are the heroes who showed the world what true love. All of Shakespeare's stories are imbued with human experiences and tragedy. The play "Romeo and Juliet" is also included in this list. The characteristics of these characters make it clear that, despite their age, people have different views and thinking. The description of the plot and images of the characters is presented briefly.

Introduction

Romeo and Juliet, who died so tragically and so early in W. Shakespeare’s play, have continued to live for several centuries in works of various types of art - painting, sculpture, music, theater and cinema. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that every day they come to life again and again. theatrical productions and ballet performances, on film and television screens, in exhibition and concert halls. And with each such “revival”, Shakespeare’s heroes acquire new faces and voices, and with them, new shades of their feelings. The ever-increasing interest in Shakespeare’s tragedy is explained not only by the fact that it depicts a love of rare strength (and many people probably dream of such love), but also by the fact that it depicts “eternal” values ​​and truths that do not depend on time and space .

The light shadows of two faithful lovers find continuous embodiment in the images of poetry and art. From century to century, people try to guess which image best suits their beautiful and ardent souls. At different times, artists and sculptors depicted Verona lovers in accordance with their own vision and tastes of society.

The relevance of this study is due to the fact that the heroes of the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, frozen in the paintings, carry their images through the centuries. Each director can interpret them in his own way. At different times when analyzing a work of painting or sculpture, we pay attention to different details. And we also find the difference between the vision of the playwright, painter, sculptor and ours. Through the centuries, the angle of view on certain things becomes different.

Of course, this topic has been studied more than once. In this work, these images will be examined from the point of view of the future director, one of whose professional tasks is a detailed study of the material from a painting or sculpture. Getting to know the author of the work, studying the history of the work, searching for artistic images and the psychology of the characters, as well as from the position of a creative person who is able to understand and be imbued with the experiences of the characters in the picture to the fullest, to create a stage sketch.

The purpose of this work is to study works of painting and sculpture, find the characteristic features of the characters, and translate them into stage sketches.

The objectives of the work are:

Analysis of works of art;

Searches and systematization of visual material;

Studying specialized literature in the context of the topic;

Compilation terminological dictionary;

The work consists of:

Introductions;

Three sections

List of used literature (9 items)

Applications

The appendices consist of a terminological dictionary (10 items) and an album of illustrations (6 items). The volume of the main work is 12 pages, appendices 7 pages.

Section 1.

Images of Romeo and Juliet based on Shakespeare's play.

“... there is no sadder story in the world than the story of

Romeo and Juliet..."

At the initial stage of working with works of art, director must study the material thoroughly. He must familiarize himself with the painting, find its reproductions, black and white, color, small, large, in order to thoroughly know his painting.

In my case, I took several paintings based on the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare. Before studying the paintings, you need to familiarize yourself with the work and its characters on which they were written.

1.1Juliet Capulet

Juliet Capulet is the main character of William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, a young girl with the naivety of a child who changed in the name of love. Juliet belongs to the Capulet family, which has long been at odds with the Montague family. She appears at the beginning of the work and appears as a carefree girl, surrounded by the care of her parents, protected by her cousin Tybalt and beloved by her nurse. She treats Juliet like her own daughter and is ready to do anything for her. The noble Capulet family in Verona is well known and revered.

At the time of the events, Juliet is almost fourteen years old. She is not yet thinking about marriage, nor about love. She is always submissive to the will of her father and mother, but everything changes when she meets Romeo Montague. A previously unknown feeling awakens in the girl’s soul, along with which her mind comes to life. She does not think about what family her lover belongs to, that he is the heir of their mortal enemy. For her, he is just a man whom she loved with all her heart. During the course of the tragedy, the image of Juliet gradually changes from a naive child girl to a mature woman in love. It is she who initiates a secret marriage with Romeo as proof of love. After all, this is the only way they can be together.

There is no affectation, licentiousness or feigned virtue in her, she is sincere in her feelings, which she cannot hide, which Romeo immediately admits, but upon realizing, he is afraid that he may regard her impulse as frivolity. She is afraid of creating the wrong impression of herself.

Juliet:

“Maybe I seem gullible?

Of course I'm so much in love

Why should you seem stupid?

But I'm more honest than many, touchy

Who play prudes,

I should have been more restrained

But I didn't know that they would hear me.

Sorry for the ardor and don't accept it

Direct speeches for ease and accessibility.”

Soon Tybalt dies in a mortal battle with Romeo, for which Juliet’s parents decide to take revenge and also marry their daughter to Paris.

In despair, the heroine decides to commit suicide by taking poison. However, Friar Lorenzo recommends that she drink another potion, which puts her into a death-like sleep for three days. When Romeo arrives at her tomb, they can flee the city together. However, fate is cruel to these two lovers. Having learned about the death of his beloved, Romeo returns from Mantua. In the Capulet crypt, he drinks a deadly poison so that he can rest next to Juliet. Waking up, the girl sees the dead body of her beloved and stabs herself with a dagger. The Montague and Capulet families make peace over the bodies of their dead children, thus ending the bloody feud.

Romeo Montague is one of the main characters in the immortal tragedy of the great playwright William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet”.

We first meet Romeo in the episode when his father talks about him. The head of a noble Verona family is worried about his son’s feelings about his unrequited love for the cold, beautiful Rosaline. The father understands that these feelings are nothing more than a far-fetched game of his son’s romantic and passionate nature.

Later, when Romeo meets the beautiful 13-year-old Juliet at the ball, true, genuine feelings flare up between them. From the first minute of meeting, young people are irresistibly attracted to each other.

All-consuming love with a tragic ending

Bright and piercingly pure love overshadows everything around and it seems that there is no force in the world that can separate the lovers. But between them there is an abyss - an ancient enmity between the most noble families of Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets.

Romeo is a very expressive image of a young representative of a noble family, who is well educated and brought up. He has the majestic bearing of an aristocrat, but at the same time he is very courteous and reasonable.

He doesn’t get into trouble, tries not to aggravate conflicts and avoid senseless shedding of blood. But circumstances, unfortunately, are not in his favor.

Romeo's love is strong and all-consuming. He does not think about himself and even life itself becomes meaningless for him without his beloved.

Without hesitation, he violates all prohibitions just to see his beloved. Having learned the terrible news of Juliet's death, Romeo rushes to her through all obstacles, not just to say goodbye, but to die next to his beloved.

Juliet's lover. He committed suicide when he mistakenly believed that Juliet was dead.

First literary work, in which the images of Juliet and Romeo appeared, is “The Newly Found History of Two Noble Lovers,” written by the Italian author Luigi da Porto and published in 1530. Most likely, Shakespeare's main source of inspiration was the poem " Tragic story Romeus and Juliet" (1562), written by Arthur Brooke.

For the first time, Romeo appears to readers as a man who is madly in love with Rosaline, Juliet's cousin. The girl is inaccessible to him, as she has taken a vow of celibacy. The suffering Romeo often walks alone before dawn. When daylight comes, he locks himself in his chambers and curtains the windows. In fact, this love cannot be called real. Both Romeo’s feelings and his actions seem feigned, insincere, and fictitious. The young man seems to revel in his suffering.

To see Rosaline, Romeo, wearing a mask, comes to the celebration at the Capulet house. Before entering, he predicts his own future. The young man says that the celebration will be “the beginning of untold disasters” and will ultimately bring him “a terrible, untimely death.” Despite such a gloomy prediction, Romeo decides to take a step towards his destiny. Seeing Juliet at the party, he instantly falls in love with her. Romeo understands that until now he had not seen true beauty and had not truly loved. A short conversation ensues between the young people, followed by a kiss.

Risking his life, at night Romeo comes to the Capulet garden, where Juliet confesses her love for him and proposes marriage. He happily agrees. Romeo's feelings are so strong that immediately after the date he rushes to Brother Lorenzo and persuades the monk to secretly marry him and Juliet on the same day. The clergyman agrees. Notice how determined Romeo becomes when he falls in love with Juliet. He behaved completely differently when he was supposedly in love with Rosaline. Then Romeo only sighed and suffered. Now the young man is actively acting.

Having married Juliet legally, Romeo begins to treat the girl’s relatives differently. Confronted with Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, he does not want to conflict with him:

But I, Tybalt, have a reason
Loving you; she forgives you
All the fury of angry words...

Then Romeo tries to separate Tybalt, who is grappling with Mercutio, but he fails. Tragedy strikes: Tybalt mortally wounds Mercutio. Romeo is torn between his love for Juliet and his love for his friend. For Juliet's sake, Romeo should not have taken revenge on her relative. However, the young man makes a different choice - he follows the dictates of friendship and duty of honor. Acting under the impression of Mercutio's death, Romeo kills Tybalt. The act turns out to be fatal. The enmity between the houses of Montague and Capulet flares up with renewed vigor, and after his wedding with Juliet, Romeo sincerely wanted to end this war forever. In addition, the Count punishes Romeo, although not too harshly. The young man is not executed, but expelled from the city. True, parting with Juliet is like death for Romeo.

While in exile in Mantua, Romeo learns of Juliet's death, buys poison to poison himself and goes to Verona with the goal of committing suicide at his beloved's grave. In the Capulet crypt, he meets Paris, Juliet's official fiancé, who has come to mourn her. Paris provokes Romeo. Young people fight with swords. Romeo kills Paris, after which he drinks poison and dies.

The tragedy unfolds over just a few days. As literary critic A. A. Anikst noted, Romeo and Juliet are quick in their feelings. The measure of their experiences is not duration, but strength, and the passion of the lovers is great.