Claudio and Isabella
- Artist: William Holman Hunt
- Date: 1850
- Medium: Oil paint on mahogany
- Dimensions: support: 758 x 426 x 10 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is “Claudio and Isabella” by William Holman Hunt, painted in 1850 in oil on mahogany. The picture freezes a tense moment from Shakespeare’s *Measure for Measure*: Claudio is condemned to death by Angelo, the duke’s deputy, and his only chance of survival hinges on his sister Isabella giving up her chastity. Hunt captures that moral dilemma with striking visual cues.
Claudio stands awkwardly, his feet shackled to the wall. The broken chain and his contorted pose draw the eye to the injustice of his confinement. Opposite him, Isabella sits upright in a plain white habit of the Order of St Clare, her hands gently resting on Claudio’s chest, a gesture that speaks of love and restraint. Light pours in through a window, bathing her in a soft glow that underscores her purity, while the darker interior around Claudio hints at the bleakness of his situation.
An apple blossom lies at his feet, its petals fluttering in the breeze—a symbol of his willingness to trade his life for his sister’s virtue. Hunt’s own words, “Thou shall not do evil that good may come,” appear in the frame, framing the scene as a moral lesson.
The painting was first shown at the Royal Academy in 1853 and has since been a key example of the Pre‑Raphaelites’ psychological depth and symbolic richness.
See it in person
Claudio and Isabella is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
