Florizel en Perdita
by 1887
Albert Pinkham Ryder was a bit of a recluse who loved to paint by candlelight, often tinkering with his canvases for years until they became thick, crusty mysteries. Here, he depicts a scene from Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale', showing the prince Florizel and the shepherdess Perdita embracing in a swirl of murky greens and golds. Instead of crisp details, Ryder creates a dreamlike atmosphere where the lovers seem to emerge from the darkness itself, almost like ghosts in a forest. He was famous for mixing strange substances into his paint to achieve this moody texture, a habit that sadly caused many of his masterpieces to crack and darken as they aged.
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