Gothic Nightmares
Gothic Nightmares
Fuseli, Blake and the Romantic Imagination at Tate Britain 15th February- 1st May 2006
The exhibition is divided amongst eight rooms, a number of artists,
work, such as Henry Fuseli, James Barry, Joseph Wright of Derby,
Catherine Blake, Philippe Jaques de Loutherbourg display their work collectivly. This collective exhibition including many great artists is an interesting way of showing their work, acting like a
whole installation.
The main focus of the instalment targets gothic stories, poems ,
ghouls, ideas of magic and all things involving terror, love
romance, passion. This ground breaking series of paintings
steered the public away from traditional and renaissance art and
introduced sex, horror and violence.
Focusing on Henry Fuseli his work appears throughout eight
rooms. “The Nightmare” for example holds great importance as it
depicts the time. “The Nightmare” is an oil painting on canvas
stretching 101.6x126.7cm wide painted in 1781 and has been
copied by many artists throughout time. Why does this image
create such impact? The public were shocked with this strong,
venerable painting which left Fuseli open to criticism
The powerful, disturbing image conjures up feelings of voyeurism,
and by mixing horror with sex the image haunts the viewer. It has
been argued that this painting holds the key of Fusilis’ own sexual
desires sparking debates between historians and psychologists.
The woman featured here is thought to have been Anna Landolt a
women whom Fuseli had a strong sexual fascination for. If this is
true this information can help us find a direct insight to Fuselis’
desires. The expression on her face is a telling one she looks
tortured but more overpowering than that, there is a sense of
euphoria and sexual gratification.
There are many ideas to what the painting means.
Why is the imp, also known as Mara, which is seen as
Fuseli, Blake and the Romantic Imagination at Tate Britain 15th February- 1st May 2006
The exhibition is divided amongst eight rooms, a number of artists,
work, such as Henry Fuseli, James Barry, Joseph Wright of Derby,
Catherine Blake, Philippe Jaques de Loutherbourg display their work collectivly. This collective exhibition including many great artists is an interesting way of showing their work, acting like a
whole installation.
The main focus of the instalment targets gothic stories, poems ,
ghouls, ideas of magic and all things involving terror, love
romance, passion. This ground breaking series of paintings
steered the public away from traditional and renaissance art and
introduced sex, horror and violence.
Focusing on Henry Fuseli his work appears throughout eight
rooms. “The Nightmare” for example holds great importance as it
depicts the time. “The Nightmare” is an oil painting on canvas
stretching 101.6x126.7cm wide painted in 1781 and has been
copied by many artists throughout time. Why does this image
create such impact? The public were shocked with this strong,
venerable painting which left Fuseli open to criticism
The powerful, disturbing image conjures up feelings of voyeurism,
and by mixing horror with sex the image haunts the viewer. It has
been argued that this painting holds the key of Fusilis’ own sexual
desires sparking debates between historians and psychologists.
The woman featured here is thought to have been Anna Landolt a
women whom Fuseli had a strong sexual fascination for. If this is
true this information can help us find a direct insight to Fuselis’
desires. The expression on her face is a telling one she looks
tortured but more overpowering than that, there is a sense of
euphoria and sexual gratification.
There are many ideas to what the painting means.
Why is the imp, also known as Mara, which is seen as