Othello (character) Othello (character) Othello () is a character in Shakespeare's "Othello" (c. 1601–1604). The character's origin is traced to the tale "Un Capitano Moro" in "Gli Hecatommithi" by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor. Othello is a brave and competent soldier of advanced years and Moorish background in the service of the Venetian Republic. He elopes with Desdemona, the beautiful daughter of a respected Venetian senator. After being deployed to Cyprus, Othello is manipulated by his Ancient (pronounced Ensign) Iago into believing Desdemona is an adulteress. Othello murders her and, upon discovering Iago's deceit,
Othello (paintings) intense colors and violent movement of the brush seem to add emphasis to the nature of the subject. The embraces of the figures representing Othello and Desdemona are viewed by some as scenes that move "from tender and loving to confusion and rage." When the "Othello" were exhibited at the gallery space of a theater in Atlanta in 1985, the paintings were considered “too provocative” and were taken down the day after the exhibit had been hung. The paintings in the series are divided almost equally in two parts. The first part consists of works often depicting compositions of naked