Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), ‘Ophelia’, 1880
“Celebrated as one of the greatest actresses of all time, Sarah Bernhardt was also recognised for her talent in the medium of sculpture, a passion which complemented her success as a stage artist. The present marble relief of Ophelia is a rare surviving work signed by Bernhardt, and among her most important to appear at auction in recent memory. Deeply sensuous in form and conception, Ophelia testifies to the iconic actor’s considerable skill as a sculptor, while epitomising Bernhardt’s fascination with the morbid eroticism that surrounds Shakespeare’s heroine.”
….
“Bernhardt’s high relief represents Ophelia in bust-form, her head turned, her eyes closed, wearing a garland of flowers, and enveloped by water which merges with her tresses. The subtlety of Bernhardt’s modelling is showcased in the beautifully detailed flowers, as well as the delicate waves of the ‘glassy stream’, whose texture contrasts with the smooth and bulging form of Ophelia’s exposed right breast. Though seemingly depicted in the moment of her death, the woman’s sensuous open-mouthed expression, overt nudity, and languid pose exude an undeniable eroticism. Unaware of her suffering, the heroine appears to embrace her death as an ecstatic consummation. Bernhardt thus offers an original interpretation of the references to female sexuality and deflowering made by Shakespeare throughout the scene of Ophelia’s madness and Queen Gertrude’s speech describing her death, which makes use of sexualised imagery such as ‘long purples / That liberal shepherds give a grosser name’.”
Source: http://www.sothebys.com/content/sothebys/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2017/erotic-passion-desire-l17322/lot.1.html
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