Friedrich Wilhelm Theodor Heyser's Ophelia is a moving rendering of Shakespeare's tragic heroine from Hamlet. The painting shows her floating peacefully in a flower-strewn stream, on the threshold of death. Heyser captures the romantic contrast between beauty and impermanence: Ophelia's serene calm versus the dark nature that surrounds her. The flowers symbolise her short life, while the still water reflects her sorrow, making her a timeless symbol of innocence and lost love.
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