In Our Ophelia Era: Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais (and Taylor Swift)
In the dappled light of a lush English riverbank, a young woman drifts on her back. Her gown billows like a silvery cloud beneath the water’s surface. Her hands are open, palms upward, as if in surrender. Her lips part as if to sing one last verse.
This is Ophelia (1851–52), Sir John Everett Millais’s haunting masterpiece, and one of the most enduring images of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
The painting draws its story from Act IV, Scene VII of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ophelia, undone by grief and madness, climbs a willow tree to hang garlands of wildflowers. A branch snaps, and she falls into the brook below. Rather than struggle, she drifts, singing softly, her garments buoying her for a time before they grow heavy with water and pull her under. Shakespeare never shows us this moment onstage—we only hear Queen Gertrude’s poetic description. Millais brings it to life!
Every blossom in the scene carries meaning. Shakespeare’s violets, daisies, and nettles are here, but Millais adds a red poppy—absent from the play but potent in symbolism—representing sleep and death. The accuracy is so precise that botanists can identify the species Millais painted along the Hogsmill River in Surrey.
True to the Pre-Raphaelite creed, Millais painted the background from life, working outdoors for up to 11 hours a day over five months, battling flies, wind, and curious onlookers. Later, in his London studio, he added Ophelia. Artist Elizabeth Siddall served as the model, posing fully clothed in a bathtub for hours while Millais worked.
When first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1852, Ophelia drew mixed reviews. Some critics found the scene unsettling, even mocking its “weedy ditch.” Over time, however, the painting became recognized as one of the great achievements of 19th-century British art. Its influence has rippled through film, photography, and fashion—from Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet to music videos and modern reinterpretations.
Most recently, Taylor Swift’s new album cover visually and thematically resonates with Millais’s Ophelia. The submerged figure creates a haunting echo across centuries. Compare the painting to the album cover. What similarities and differences do you see?
To celebrate our Ophelia Era, we’ve created a printable coloring sheet inspired by Millais’s Ophelia. Whether you stay faithful to the original’s lush greens and silver tones or reinvent it with bold, show-stopping colors worthy of a tour wardrobe change, this is your chance to put your own spin on an icon. As you color, think of it as designing your own Ophelia “album cover.” Will yours lean toward the soft melancholy of Millais—or the glamorous, diamond-studded reinvention of Taylor’s?
Swifties, don’t miss your chance to honor “The Fate of Ophelia”—with every colored pencil stroke, you’re writing another verse in this beautiful legacy!
Are you coloring with us?
