Reproductie van een schilderij van Ophelia door Madeleine Jeanne Lemaire before 1901

Valadon & Cie. Boussod reproduced Madeleine Jeanne Lemaire's painting of Ophelia. Note the visual symbols of a woman drifting in water surrounded by flowers. Ophelia’s story, immortalized by Shakespeare, resonates deeply with archetypal themes of love, madness, and tragic fate. Flowers, often associated with beauty and ephemeral life, here become emblems of Ophelia's disrupted state of mind. Think of Botticelli’s Flora in 'Primavera', scattering blossoms, a celebration of life, yet here, flowers mark the descent into oblivion. This motif of a woman floating in water recurs through art history, from classical myths of nymphs to Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Water, symbolizing both purification and oblivion, accentuates the emotional weight of the image, engaging viewers on a subconscious level, evoking profound feelings of sorrow and empathy. This symbol’s power persists, resonating with our collective memory, a testament to how images transcend time, carrying emotional and psychological meaning across centuries.