"Jocund Day Stands Tip Toe on the Misty Mountain Tops" (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 5) 1825 - 1835

George Richmond made this graphite drawing on paper, which is inspired by a line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, sometime in the 19th century. Here we see an androgynous figure, caught mid-motion, arms raised above their head, standing on what seems to be a mound or a cloud. The lightness of the graphite adds to the ethereal quality of the image. Richmond’s references to Shakespeare place this image in a tradition of literary painting that was very popular in Victorian Britain. In fact, Richmond was part of a group of artists known as ‘The Ancients’, who consciously tried to revive a pre-industrial, pastoral artistic style, one that was very romantic and imaginative. Richmond and the other ancients turned to sources like the Bible, Milton, and, of course, Shakespeare to help them reimagine a more spiritual vision of the English countryside. Art historians, by looking at letters, diaries, and other historical sources, help us understand the way these artists thought about the relationship between nature, art, and industrial society.