Henry Fuseli ( ; ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman, and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his successful works depict supernatural experiences, such as ''

The Nightmare ''The Nightmare'' is a 1781 oil painting by the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. It shows a woman with her arms thrown below her, in deep sleep as she undergoes a nightmare as an almost hidden horse (the "Mare (folklore), night-mare") looks on as a d ...

''. He produced painted works for John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery and his own "Milton Gallery". He held the posts of Professor of Painting and Keeper at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

. His style had a considerable influence on many younger British artists, including

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

Biography

Fuseli was born on 7 February 1741, in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, the second of 18 children. Among his brothers and sisters were Johann Kaspar and

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

. His father was

Johann Caspar Füssli Johann Caspar Füssli (3 January 1706 – 6 May 1782) was a Swiss portrait painter and art historian. Biography Füssli was born in Zürich to Hans Rudolf Füssli, who was also a painter, and Elisabeth Schärer. He studied painting in Vienna bet ...

, a painter of portraits and landscapes, and author of ''Lives of the Helvetic Painters''. He intended Henry for the church, and sent him to the Caroline college of Zürich, where he received a classical education. One of his schoolmates there was

Johann Kaspar Lavater Johann Kaspar (or Caspar) Lavater (; 15 November 1741 – 2 January 1801) was a Switzerland, Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist and theologian. Early life Lavater was born in Zürich, and was educated at the ''Gymnasium (school), Gy ...

, with whom he became close friends. After taking

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

in 1761, Fuseli was forced to leave the country as a result of having helped Lavater to expose an unjust magistrate, whose powerful family sought revenge. He travelled through Germany, and then, in 1765, visited England, where he supported himself for some time by miscellaneous writing. Eventually, he became acquainted with Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

, to whom he showed his drawings. Following Reynolds' advice, he decided to devote himself entirely to art. In 1770 he made an art-pilgrimage to Italy, where he remained until 1778, changing his name from Füssli to the more Italian-sounding Fuseli. In

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

he moved in the same circles as the Scottish artist

Alexander Runciman Alexander Runciman (15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785) was a Scottish people, Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. Life He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at ...

and the Swedish sculptor

Tobias Sergel Johan Tobias Sergel (; 7 September 1740 in Stockholm – 26 February 1814 in Stockholm) was a Swedish neoclassical sculptor. Sergels torg, the largest square in the centre of Stockholm and near where his workshop stood, is named after him. Life ...

. In early 1779, he returned to Britain, visiting Zürich on the way. In London, he found a commission awaiting him from Alderman

John Boydell John Boydell ( ; – 12 December 1804) was an English publisher noted for his reproductions of engravings. He helped alter the trade imbalance between Britain and France in engravings and initiated an English tradition in the art form. A former ...

, who was then setting up his Shakespeare Gallery. Fuseli painted a number of pieces for Boydell, and supervised the first English edition of Lavater's work on

physiognomy Physiognomy () or face reading is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain without referenc ...

. He also gave

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the Engli ...

some valuable assistance in preparing a translation of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

. In 1788, Fuseli married Sophia Rawlins (originally one of his models), and he soon after became an associate of the

. The early feminist

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

, whose portrait he had painted, planned a trip with him to Paris, and pursued him determinedly, but communication between the two was stopped by Rawlins. Fuseli later said "I hate clever women. They are only troublesome". In 1790, he became a full

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...

, presenting ''

Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent ''Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent'' is an oil on canvas painting by the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli, from 1790. It is held at the Royal Academy of Arts Collections, in London. History and description The nude and muscular Thor stands in Hymir' ...

'' as his

diploma work In art, a reception piece is a work submitted by an artist to an academy for approval as part of the requirements for admission to membership. The piece is normally representative of the artist's work, and the organization's judgement of its skil ...

. In 1799 Fuseli was appointed professor of painting to the Academy. Four years later he was chosen as Keeper, and resigned his professorship, but resumed it in 1810, continuing to hold both offices until his death. He was succeeded as keeper by Henry Thomson. In 1799, Fuseli exhibited a series of paintings from subjects furnished by the works of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

, with a view to forming a Milton gallery comparable to Boydell's Shakespeare gallery. There were 47 Milton paintings, many of them very large, completed at intervals over nine years. The exhibition proved a commercial failure and closed in 1800. In 1805 he brought out an edition of

Matthew Pilkington Matthew Pilkington (1701–1774), Church of Ireland priest, writer, and art historian, was the author of a standard text on painters that became known as ''Pilkington's Dictionary''. His first wife was the poet and memoirist Laetitia Pilkington a ...

's ''Lives of the Painters'', which did little for his reputation.

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...

, when on his visit to England, was much taken with Fuseli's works, and on returning to Rome in 1817 caused him to be elected a member of the first class in the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...

Works

As a painter, Fuseli favoured the supernatural. He pitched everything on an ideal scale, believing a certain amount of exaggeration necessary in the higher branches of historical painting. In this theory he was confirmed by the study of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

's works and the marble statues of the Monte Cavallo, which, when at

, he liked to contemplate in the evening, relieved against a murky sky or illuminated by lightning. Describing his style,

William Michael Rossetti William Michael Rossetti (25 September 1829 – 5 February 1919) was an English writer and critic. Early life Born in London, Rossetti was a son of exiled Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti and his wife Frances Polidori, Frances Rossetti '' ...

in the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition said that:

His figures are full of life and earnestness, and seem to have an object in view which they follow with intensity. Like
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...
he excelled in the art of setting his figures in motion. Though the lofty and terrible was his proper sphere, Fuseli had a fine perception of the ludicrous. The grotesque humour of his fairy scenes, especially those taken from ''A Midsummer-Night's Dream'', is in its way not less remarkable than the poetic power of his more ambitious works.

Though not noted as a colourist, Fuseli was described as a master of light and shadow. Rather than setting out his palette methodically in the manner of most painters, he merely distributed the colours across it randomly. He often used his pigments in the form of a dry powder, which he hastily combined on the end of his brush with oil, or

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...

, or gold size, regardless of the quantity, and depending on accident for the general effect. This recklessness may perhaps be explained by the fact that he did not paint in oil until the age of 25. Fuseli painted more than 200 pictures, but he exhibited only a small number of them. His earliest painting represented ''Joseph Interpreting the Dreams of the Baker and Butler'', but the first to excite particular attention was ''

'', exhibited in 1782, a painting of which he painted several versions. Themes seen in ''The Nightmare'' such as horror, dark magic and sexuality, were echoed in his 1796 painting, ''Night-Hag visiting the Lapland Witches''. His sketches or designs numbered about 800; they have admirable qualities of invention and design and are frequently superior to his paintings. In his drawings, as in his paintings, his methods included deliberately exaggerating the proportions of the human body and throwing his figures into contorted attitudes. One technique involved setting down arbitrary points on a sheet, which then became the extreme points of the various limbs. Notable examples of these drawings were made in concert with George Richmond when the two artists were together in Rome. He rarely drew figures from life, basing his art on study of the antique and Michelangelo. He produced no

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

—"Damn Nature! she always puts me out" was his characteristic exclamation—and painted only two portraits. However, similar to contemporary landscape painters such as

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

, he evoked qualities of terror and the sublime. Many interesting anecdotes of Fuseli, and his relations to contemporary artists, are given in his ''Life'' by

John Knowles John Knowles (; September 16, 1926November 29, 2001) was an American novelist best known for ''A Separate Peace'' (1959). Biography Knowles was born on September 16, 1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia, the son of James M. Knowles, a purchasing ag ...

(1831). He influenced the art of Fortunato Duranti.

Writings

He was a thorough master of French, Italian, English and German, and could write in all these languages with equal facility and vigour, although he preferred German as the vehicle of his thoughts. His principal written work was his series of twelve lectures delivered to the Royal Academy, begun in 1801.

Influence

His pupils included David Wilkie,

Benjamin Haydon Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactle ...

William Etty William Etty (10 March 1787 – 13 November 1849) was an English artist best known for his history paintings containing nude figures. He was the first significant British painter of nudes and still lifes. Born in York, he left sch ...

, and

Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. His best-known work is the lion sculptures at the base of Nelso ...

, who was 16 years his junior, recognized a debt to him, and for a time many English artists copied his mannerisms.

Death

After a life of uninterrupted good health, he died on 17 April 1825, at the house of the Countess of Guildford on Putney Hill, aged 84, and was buried in the crypt of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

."Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p. 465: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909. He was comparatively wealthy at the time of his death.

Gallery

File:FuseliArtistMovedtoDespair.jpg, '' The Artist's Despair Before the Grandeur of Ancient Ruins'', 1778–79 File:Zentralbibliothek Zürich - Portät von Anna Magdalena Schweizer geb Hess im Alter von 27 Jahren - 000003019.jpg, Anna Magdalena Schweizer, 1779 File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 012.jpg, ''The artist in conversation with

Johann Jakob Bodmer Johann Jakob Bodmer (19 July 16982 January 1783) was a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet. Life Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters. In ...

'', 1778–1781 File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 064.jpg, ''The death of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

'', 1780 File:The two murderers of the Duke of Clarence.jpg, ''The two murderers of the Duke of Clarence'', 1780–1782 File:Henry Fuseli - Titania and Bottom - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Titania and Bottom'', File:HEINRICH FÜSSLI - Falstaff en la cesta (Kunsthaus, Zúrich, 1792).jpg, ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

in the laundry basket'', 1792 File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 028.jpg, ''The Creation of Eve'' from Milton's ''Paradise Lost'', 1793 File:Macbeth consulting the Vision of the Armed Head.jpg, ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

consulting the Vision of the Armed Head'', 1793 File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 032.jpg, ''The daughters of

Pandareus In Greek mythology, Pandareus () is the son of Merops and a nymph. His residence is usually given as either EphesusAntoninus Liberalis11as cited in Boeus' ''Ornithogonia'' or Miletus. Pausanias10.30.2/ref> Pandareus married Harmothoë and had s ...

'', File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 054.jpg, ''

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

in front of

Scylla and Charybdis In Greek mythology, Scylla ( ; , ) is a legendary, man-eating monster that lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart, the sea-swallowing monster Charybdis. The two sides of the strait are within an arrow's range o ...

'', 1794–1796 File:Lapland witches.jpg, ''The

Night-Hag The night hag is the name given to a supernatural creature, commonly associated with the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. It is a phenomenon in which the sleeper feels the presence of a supernatural, malevolent being which immobilizes the perso ...

visiting the Lapland Witches'', 1796 File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 059.jpg, ''Horseman attacked by a giant snake'', File:Ariel (Fuseli, c.1800-1810).jpg, ''Ariel'', File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 047.jpg, ''

Kriemhild Gudrun ( ; ) or Kriemhild ( ; ) is the wife of Sigurd, Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two queens of the Merovingia ...

and

Gunther Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther () or Gunnar (), was a historical King of the Burgundians in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they crossed the Rhine ...

'', 1807 File:Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet.jpg, ''Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet'', File:Johann Heinrich Füssli - Lady Macbeth with the Daggers - WGA8338.jpg, '' Lady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers'', 1810–1812 File:Puck (Fuseli, 1810-1820).jpg, ''Puck, or Robin Goodfellow'', File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 038.jpg, ''Fairy Mab'', 1815–1820 File:Fuseli – Britomart.jpg, '' Britomart Delivering Amoretta from the Enchantment of Busirane'', 1824

Films

''Passion and Obsession: Henry Fuseli, 1741–1825: painter and writer''
by Gaudenz Meili and David H. Weinglass, Zurich 1997

Books

''Creator of Nightmares: Henry Fuseli's Art and Life''
by Christopher Baker,

Reaktion Books Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In recen ...

, 2024

References and sources

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * *
Profile on Royal Academy of Arts CollectionsFuseli's Lecture on Painting 1801
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuseli, Henry 1741 births 1825 deaths 18th-century British painters British male painters 19th-century British painters Burials at St Paul's Cathedral Keepers of the Royal Academy British portrait painters Swiss portrait painters Royal Academicians Artists from Zurich 18th-century Swiss painters 18th-century Swiss male artists Swiss male painters 19th-century Swiss painters 19th-century British male artists 19th-century Swiss male artists

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Swiss horror artists