Artwork
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a print by the Impressionist artist The Illustrated London News. It dates from 17 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This print captures a moment from a famous 1887 stage production of *The Winter’s Tale*. It was published in *The Illustrated London News* after opening at the Lyceum Theatre.
Mary Anderson played two key roles in this show, and the print shows how the theater used visuals to promote the performance.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for more prints like this one.
Overview
This print, published in The Illustrated London News on October 1, 1887, documents a scene from the Lyceum Theatre’s staging of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
This print, published in The Illustrated London News on October 1, 1887, documents a scene from the Lyceum Theatre’s staging of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. It was produced to accompany coverage of the season’s opening, capturing the visual design and key performers of the production. The image served as both a record and a promotional tool, reflecting the era’s interest in theatrical illustration.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts moments from a dual-role performance by Mary Anderson, who portrayed both Hermione, the wronged queen, and Perdita, her lost daughter. This casting emphasized thematic continuity between maternal loss and renewal, central to Shakespeare’s narrative. The staging sought to unify the play’s tragic and pastoral halves through visual and performative cohesion.
Technique & Style
Rendered in line engraving with tonal washes, the print follows the illustrative conventions of late-Victorian periodicals. Details in costume and set design are rendered with precision, prioritizing clarity over artistic flourish. The composition arranges figures in a staged tableau, mimicking the perspective of a theatergoer in the auditorium.
History & Provenance
The production opened at the Lyceum Theatre in September 1887 and ran for 160 performances. Johnston Forbes-Robertson played Leontes. The company toured the United States in 1889, where Anderson collapsed onstage, leading to her retirement and the dissolution of the troupe. The print was issued shortly after the London premiere as part of the newspaper’s cultural reporting.
Context
This production occurred during a period of renewed interest in Shakespearean drama on the British stage, with an emphasis on historical accuracy in costume and set design. The Illustrated London News regularly featured theatrical illustrations, catering to a middle-class audience eager for visual access to performances they could not attend.
Legacy
Anderson’s dual performance was notable for its ambition, though her retirement shortly after the U.S. tour marked the end of a significant career. The print remains a material artifact of late 19th-century theatrical culture, preserving the visual language of stage production before the advent of photography in popular media.
Artist & collection
Artist
The Illustrated London News, founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine.
