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Henry Fuseli, born Johann Heinrich Füssli in Zurich in 1741, is one of the most remarkable painters of his time. Fuseli came from an educated milieu and received his first painting impulses from his father, who was himself a landscape and still life painter. Fuseli's sisters were also painters. After studying theology, Henry Fuseli initially became a pastor, but then had to leave his native Zurich because of critical writings. At that time, the painting pastor had already studied ancient writings of Homer, Shakespeare and Dante.
In 1764, Fuseli settled in London after a brief stint in Berlin, where he had made a name for himself as a translator. The portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds supported him in concentrating on painting in the future. Between 1770 and 1778, Fuseli lived in Rome, intensively studying the works of Michelangelo and engaging with the art of antiquity. Back in London, Fuseli was accepted into the Royal Academy: His reputation was already legendary at the time. With the oil painting "Thor's Fight with the Midgard Serpent", Fuseli became a full member of the Academy. A few years later he also received a professorship.
What distinguishes the painting of the Swiss-English artist? Fuseli's art is considered suggestive, demonic, intensely sensual. The visionary, even gruesome is the subject of his painting. Fuseli realizes this, as in "Titania and Bottom," in sensuous colors and strong contrasts of light and dark. At the same time, the painter was a lover of theater and literature. In an emotionally charged manner, he illustrated Shakespeare's dramas, for example "Hamlet", in drastic black and white. The painting "The Three Witches Appear Macbeth and Banquo" is magnificent in its somber coloring and palpable drama.
Henry Fuseli, born Johann Heinrich Füssli in Zurich in 1741, is one of the most remarkable painters of his time. Fuseli came from an educated milieu and received his first painting impulses from his father, who was himself a landscape and still life painter. Fuseli's sisters were also painters. After studying theology, Henry Fuseli initially became a pastor, but then had to leave his native Zurich because of critical writings. At that time, the painting pastor had already studied ancient writings of Homer, Shakespeare and Dante.
In 1764, Fuseli settled in London after a brief stint in Berlin, where he had made a name for himself as a translator. The portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds supported him in concentrating on painting in the future. Between 1770 and 1778, Fuseli lived in Rome, intensively studying the works of Michelangelo and engaging with the art of antiquity. Back in London, Fuseli was accepted into the Royal Academy: His reputation was already legendary at the time. With the oil painting "Thor's Fight with the Midgard Serpent", Fuseli became a full member of the Academy. A few years later he also received a professorship.
What distinguishes the painting of the Swiss-English artist? Fuseli's art is considered suggestive, demonic, intensely sensual. The visionary, even gruesome is the subject of his painting. Fuseli realizes this, as in "Titania and Bottom," in sensuous colors and strong contrasts of light and dark. At the same time, the painter was a lover of theater and literature. In an emotionally charged manner, he illustrated Shakespeare's dramas, for example "Hamlet", in drastic black and white. The painting "The Three Witches Appear Macbeth and Banquo" is magnificent in its somber coloring and palpable drama.