Ophelia is a 1894 oil on canvas painting by the English painter John William Waterhouse,[1] depicting a character in William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet.

She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, a potential wife for Prince Hamlet.

In the 1894 version by Waterhouse, Ophelia is depicted, in the last moments before her death, sitting on a willow branch extending out over a pond of lilies.

Her royal dress strongly contrasts with her natural surroundings.

Waterhouse has placed flowers on her lap and in her hair, tying her into her natural surroundings.