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Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli

Henry Fuseli

Swiss, 1741-1825
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Henry Fuseli was a Swiss painter, draughtsman, and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works depict supernatural experiences, such as The Nightmare. He painted works for John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery and created his own "Milton Gallery". He held the posts of Professor of Painting and Keeper at the Royal Academy. His style had a considerable influence on many younger British artists, including William Blake.

Fuseli was born in Zürich, Switzerland, the second of 18 children. His father was Johann Caspar Füssli, 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, with whom he became close friends.

After taking orders 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, 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 he moved in the same circles as the Scottish artist Alexander Runciman and the Swedish sculptor Tobias Sergel.

Early in 1779 he returned to Britain, visiting Zürich on the way. In London, he found a commission awaiting him from Alderman Boydell, who was then setting up his Shakespeare Gallery. Fuseli painted a number of pieces for Boydell, and published an English edition of Lavater's work on physiognomy. He also gave William Cowper some valuable assistance in preparing a translation of Homer. In 1788 Fuseli married Sophia Rawlins (originally one of his models), and he soon after became an associate of the Royal Academy. The early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, 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, presenting Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent as his diploma work. 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, 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's Lives of the Painters, which did little for his reputation.

Antonio Canova, 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

92 items

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Vue de la chapelle de Guillaume Tell dans le Canton de Schweiz

Vue de la chapelle de Guillaume Tell dans le Canton de Schweiz (1915-1945)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Landscape
Bellsane and Parcival under the Enchantment of Urma

Bellsane and Parcival under the Enchantment of Urma (1782)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
The Daughter of Herodias

The Daughter of Herodias (1798)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Illustration
Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I, Scene I

Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I, Scene I (1803)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Illustration
The Nightmare

The Nightmare (1781)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
The Night-Hag Visiting Lapland Witches

The Night-Hag Visiting Lapland Witches (1796)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Lysander With Helena And Hermia, From A Midsummer Night’S Dream

Lysander With Helena And Hermia, From A Midsummer Night’S Dream

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Henry V; Act II, Scene ii, Southamptom. The King, Scroop, etc.

Henry V; Act II, Scene ii, Southamptom. The King, Scroop, etc. (1803)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Illustration
Henry IV; Part II, Act II, Scene IV. ‘Doll Tearsheet, Falstaff, Henry & Poins’

Henry IV; Part II, Act II, Scene IV. ‘Doll Tearsheet, Falstaff, Henry & Poins’ (1803)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Illustration
Caractacus at the Tribunal

Caractacus at the Tribunal (1792)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Illustration
Winter’s Tale, Act 3, Scene 3

Winter’s Tale, Act 3, Scene 3 (1803)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
The Three Witches

The Three Witches (1786)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Queen Katherine’s Dream

Queen Katherine’s Dream (1788)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; Act I, Scene iv, Platform before the Palace of Elsineur–Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus and the Ghost

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; Act I, Scene iv, Platform before the Palace of Elsineur–Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus and the Ghost (1803)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Oedipus Cursing His Son Polynices

Oedipus Cursing His Son Polynices (1786)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Hüon Rescuing Angela From The Giant Angulaffer, From Wieland’s Oberon

Hüon Rescuing Angela From The Giant Angulaffer, From Wieland’s Oberon

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Head of a Damned Soul from Dante’s ‘Inferno’

Head of a Damned Soul from Dante’s ‘Inferno’ (1770-78)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Figurative
Milton Dictating to His Daughter

Milton Dictating to His Daughter (1794)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Figurative
Satan and Death with Sin Intervening

Satan and Death with Sin Intervening (1799-1800)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Religion
Beatrice, Hero and Ursula

Beatrice, Hero and Ursula (ca. 1771)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
The incubus leaving two young women

The incubus leaving two young women

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Satan Starts from the Touch of Ithuriel’s Spear

Satan Starts from the Touch of Ithuriel’s Spear (1776)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Dido

Dido (1781)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Leonora Discovers Alonzo’s Dagger

Leonora Discovers Alonzo’s Dagger

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Celadon und Amelia

Celadon und Amelia (1801)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Tekemessa and Eurysakes

Tekemessa and Eurysakes (between 1800 and 1810)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
The two murderers of the Duke of Clarence

The two murderers of the Duke of Clarence

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Figurative
Perseus Starting from the Cave of the Gorgons

Perseus Starting from the Cave of the Gorgons (1810–1820)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Mythology
Fall of hell from the damned

Fall of hell from the damned (1752)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Abstract
A Mother With Her Family In The Country

A Mother With Her Family In The Country (1806-07)

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741-1825)
Figurative
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