Edmund Kean as Richard the III

Created by Caroline Cross on Sun, 09/22/2019 - 17:26

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Description: 

This is an oil painting done in the early 19th Century by George Clint. It depicts Edmund Kean as King Richard III ordering the Duke of Buckingham as a part of a production of Shakespeare's Richard III. This portrait displays important characteristics that set Kean Apart in this time, like his greasy black hair, sharp features, and grumpy disposition, making him the perfect shakespearian villain. Before Kean, even the villains in stage productions of Shakespeare's works tended to be tall and gorgeous, but Kean revolutionized the way that villains were protrayed on stage. The dark, rich colors of this painting, along with the ornate and fabulous costumes, shows just how lavish and integral to society theater, and Shakespeare, were at this time.

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Timeline of Events Associated with Edmund Kean as Richard the III

The Birth of Edmund Kean

17 Mar 1789

Edmund Kean was a famous british stage actor who revolutionized the protrayal of Shakesperian villians in the Romantic Period. Before Kean, Shakespearian actors were see as up-standing, tall, handsome, aristocratic men. Kean, however, was praised for his wild, theatrical, distorted protrayal in Shakespeare classics like Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, and more. Kean had a big hand in revitalizing and reinventing Shakespeare productions, mainly the tragedies, completely changing the perception and adaptations of Shakespeare for the rest of the Romantic period and on. Haunted by many demons and not handling fame well, his acting career was cut short, as his life ended after only 45 years. Even though his career was not long, he influenced many stage actors and writers of the Romantic period. Samuel Coleridge even claimed that "Seeing him act was like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning", showing just how influential and electric Kean was as an actor and story teller. 

www.thestage.co.uk/features/20…

www.nndb.com/people/318/000102…

shakespeare.berkeley.edu/peopl…

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TimelineJS

Part of Group:

Engaging English (F19 ENGL 202, Purdue)

Featured in Exhibit: 

Romanticism: A Class Gallery

Artist: 

  • George Clint

Image Date: 

circa. Early 19th century