Ophelia 

Editor: This piece, entitled "Ophelia" by Sarah Joncas, seems to be rendered in oil and possibly watercolor. The subject is a woman floating in dark water; she's eerily beautiful, but also there's this strong undercurrent of tragedy. What can you tell me about it? Curator: It's interesting you pick up on the tragic element. Works referencing Ophelia, the character from Shakespeare’s *Hamlet*, carry a heavy historical and cultural burden. Remember the Victorian obsession with her? Editor: The Pre-Raphaelites? Curator: Exactly. They repeatedly depicted Ophelia's death, and paintings of her became culturally loaded objects, embodying notions of female beauty, madness, and tragic fate. How do you see Joncas’ work fitting into that tradition, or perhaps diverging from it? Does this feel like a straightforward representation, or something more complex? Editor: I think it is a more complex engagement, she isn’t just showing a pretty corpse, which unfortunately characterized many of the paintings from that period. Ophelia's expression here isn't passive. She's still, but also present. Curator: And the role of contemporary fantasy art might affect that representation too. Do you think the artist used the subject of Ophelia to make a statement about modern women? Is Joncas maybe asking us to reconsider our cultural narratives around female suffering? Editor: That's definitely something to consider; thanks for opening my eyes to the painting’s cultural backdrop! Curator: My pleasure! Looking at art through the lens of its historical reception always brings new insights.