Ophelia is a painting by John Everett Millais (1829-1896). It is meant to be Ophelia from Shakespeare's play "Hamlet". Millais was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He went to great lengths to get every detail right in all of his paintings. For this painting he spent days painting by the side of a stream to capture every detail of the growth around the water. Then he spent hours painting his model who was submerged in the tub of water in order for him to get every detail of her floating image. She was in the cold water so long that she became very ill from the cold. Her story is just as interesting as the painter himself. She was an artist in her own right but because of era, never received the recognition due to her. There is a wonderful video, 6-minute video produced by the Tate Britain that tells the story of this painting and gives honor to his model Elizabeth Sidel. It is a fascinating story. You can see it here.
