My Initial Reaction to the Work
At first glance, I noted that indeed the work of art by Henry Fuseli depicted a woman’s worst nightmare, as the name would suggest. I took note of the fact that the painting brought about the mythical creature, Incubus, which is known to engage in sexual activities with sleeping women. The fact that Fuseli seeks to introduce his audience to traditional myths aims to create that structured appeal towards the painting as a way of ensuring that it would attract viewers. In my case, I was attracted to the painting due to Fuseli’s ability to project a combination of realism and myths in the same work of art. The central aspect of the work of art that I find as being most interesting is the extensive use of light and shadows within the painting. Any individual viewing this painting for the first time would be attracted to the fact that the painter incorporates extensive use of light and shadows to draw attention.
Analysis of the Work
‘The Nightmare’ was developed during the Romanticism period, which is also referred to as the Romantic era, originating in Europe at the end of 18 th century. One of the key aspects to note about this particular period is that the critical message presented through different works of art was that of emotion and individualism. Paulson (2014) takes note of the fact that the romanticism period helped in creating a movement that would see people appreciating intuition and emotion when compared to the concepts of rationalism. That is an aspect that has been presented within the work of art by Henry Fuseli through which he seeks to create an emotion of horror and terror among his audience.
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A review of Henry Fuseli’s biography, one of the key aspects to take note of is that he had always been fascinated with the idea of spiritual subject matter, which he projected through most of his works of art. As can be seen in the case of ‘The Nightmare' and others, Fuseli was able to bring to the floor the realm of the supernatural in his works as a way of ensuring that people would appreciate the existence of such subject matter. Having being brought up in a family of 18 children, Fuseli was tasked with essential responsibilities of having to take care of his siblings, as he was the second born in the family. His father, Johann Caspar Füssli, worked as a painter of portraits, as well as, landscapes, thus, acting as a clear indication of the fascination that Fuseli had towards painting (Fuseli 1781).
In this work of art, Fuseli explores the dark theme with the focus being towards providing his audience with a clear understanding of a dark realm associated with the unconscious state of mind. To help in supporting his theme, Fuseli creates a strategic juxtaposition touching on his use of light and shadow, as he uses a single source of light, which is from the right side of the image. That creates a sharply contrasting light and shadow on the painting, thus, helping towards bringing out the uncertainty associated with his painting. The use of light allows him to explore the realm or theme of darkness as a way of trying to ensure that his audience has a clear understanding of how the unconscious state of mind operates. He intentionally adds the incubus as a way of providing that his audience would gain some form of connection, as this projects a spiritual approach.
In today’s audience, the relevance of this work of art reflects more on the fact that artists tend to have a wild sense of understanding on the specific on different matters that may affect the society in one way or another. Specifically, the work of art creates a progressive approach from which people would appreciate art as a form of communication taking into account that artists tend to use their works as a way of trying to present a specific message. In his work, Fuseli sought to create that generalized understanding of supernatural myths, which he aims to project through this particular painting. On the other hand, the relevance of this work of art can be seen from the fact that it supports the extensive use of light and shadows as a way of creating art that the audience would appreciate.
Alteration of My Thoughts
The more in-depth knowledge I have gained concerning the work of art by Henry Fuseli has altered my thoughts towards the painting, as the experience increased has provided me with a clear understanding of some of the critical reasons for the work. Through my analysis of the information obtained, I have learned that Fuseli may have been driven towards this type of art because he remained fascinated with the supernatural subject matter. On the other hand, the knowledge gained has provided me with a sense of understanding of the fact that Fuseli sought to build on the contemporary mode of art projected within that period. Specifically, he attempted to rely on the view of intuition and emotion, as he created this particular work of art.
References
Fuseli, H. (1781). The Nightmare (1781) by Henry Fuseli . Retrieved from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/nightmare-fuseli.htm
Paulson, N. (2014). Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare . Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-england/a/henry-fuseli-the-nightmare
