Henry Fuseli RA (1741 - 1825)
RA Collection: People and Organisations
A Swiss artist known for fantastical paintings inspired by classic literature, Henry Fuseli served as Keeper of the RA Schools for 21 years. He was a friend of William Blake, who made engravings of several of his works. Fuseli oversaw the education of many students in the RA Schools including John Constable, Benjamin Haydon, William Etty, and Edwin Landseer.
Henry Fuseli was born Henry Füssli in Zurich, Switzerland. The son of a painter and author Johann Caspar Füssli, Fuseli showed an interest in art at a young age, but his father persuaded him to become a minister. He completed his training and was ordained in 1761, but abandoned the priesthood soon after.
In 1764 Fuseli travelled to London, where he met the Royal Academy’s first President, Sir Joshua Reynolds, who encouraged his artistic ambitions. Between 1770 and 1778 Fuseli studied and worked in Rome—where he italianised his name to Fuseli. After a short stay in Zurich he returned to London in 1779.
Fuseli’s best-known work, The Nightmare, was first exhibited at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in 1782. Depicting a woman asleep with a malevolent imp crouched on her chest, the painting is characteristic of Fuseli’s imaginative style. In 1783 an engraving was made of the work, which helped to popularise the image and encouraged Fuseli to continue painting variations on this theme.
Throughout the 1780s and 1790s, Fuseli was commissioned by the publisher John Boydell to paint scenes from Shakespeare’s plays for Boydell’s short-lived Shakespeare Gallery, which opened in London in 1789. Fuseli had at least nine works exhibited in the gallery, depicting scenes from plays including Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear. Inspired by this venture, Fuseli began work on a series depicting scenes from John Milton’s Paradise Lost and opened his own Milton Gallery to exhibit them in 1799. Both galleries aimed to profit from selling prints of the works on display, but failed to generate enough income and closed in the early 1800s.
Fuseli was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1788 and a full Academician in 1790. His Diploma Work (given to the RA on his election) depicts a scene from Nordic mythology, Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent.
Fuseli served as Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy Schools between 1799-1805, and 1810-1825 and was also Keeper of the Schools from 1804 until his death in 1825.
Profile
Born: 6 February 1741 in Zürich, Switzerland
Died: 16 April 1825
Nationality: Swiss
Elected ARA: 3 November 1788
Elected RA: 10 February 1790
Keeper from: 1804 - 1825
Professor of Painting: 1799 - 1805
Professor of Painting: 1810 - 1825
Gender: Male
Preferred media: Painting
Works by Henry Fuseli in the RA Collection
10 results
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Henry Fuseli RA
Sketch of a nude male figure in the pose of the Dioscuri, c.1790
Pen and ink on laid paper
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Henry Fuseli RA
Fertilization of Egypt, 1 December 1791
Line-engraving
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Henry Fuseli RA
Falstaff at Hearne's Oak: a scene from Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, 27 January 1803
Etching with engraving
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Henry Fuseli RA
Prospero summons Ariel: a scene from Shakespeare's Tempest, 1 January 1803
Etching with engraving
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Henry Fuseli RA
Julia sends away Lucetta: a scene from Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, 8 January 1803
Etching with engraving
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Henry Fuseli RA
A woman in 16th century dress, ca. 1803
Pen and brown ink on cream wove paper
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Henry Fuseli RA
A man asleep in bed, a female figure in profile stands on the left, ca. 1805
Black chalk on off-white laid paper
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Henry Fuseli RA
Thor battering the Midgard Serpent, 1790
Oil on canvas
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Henry Fuseli RA
Sleeping woman with a Cupid, 1780-1790
Etching
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Henry Fuseli RA
Evening Thou Bringest All (Lady at a window)
Pen lithograph on laid paper
Works after Henry Fuseli in the RA Collection
36 results
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Rosicrucius's Sepulchre, 20 August 1803
Line-engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Creation of Eve, 1807
Line- and stipple-engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Aratus the Poet and Urania the Muse of Astronomy, c.1800
Line engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Prison, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Newspaper in the Country, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Mad Kate, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Negro Revenged, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
A Mother with her Family in the Country, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
A Dressing Room, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Virtue reclaiming Youth from the arms of Vice, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Fantasy portrait of Michelangelo before the Roman Coliseum, 1801
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Silence, 1801
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Crossed Man's and Woman's Hands, May 1797
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Woman's hand and arm with a bracelet, May 1797
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Seated muscular male nude, September 1793
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Sibyl with Open Book in her Lap, April 1793
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Young Man sitting beneath a Tree, July 1792
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Martha Hess, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Rechab displaying the Head of Ishbosheth, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Three Heads of Damned Souls from Dante's Inferno, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Youth sitting beneath a Tree in a Pastoral Landscape, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Witch of Endor summoning up the spirit of Samel, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Escapee: A Real Scene in the Hospital of san Spirito at Rome, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Balaam blessing the Children of Israel, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Cain, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Death of Abel, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
St. John, March 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Brutus, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
A Trans-Tiberine, December 1789
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Daughter of Herodias, 25 April 1798
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Mary, sister of Martha, 2 July 1792
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
The Poet's Vision, 1 March 1807
Etching and engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Ezzelin Bracciaferro musing over the Body of Meduna, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
A Patriarch or Prophet, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Fourth Head of a Damned Soul from Dante's Inferno, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After Henry Fuseli RA
Mary, sister of Martha, July 1792
Etching with engraving
Works associated with Henry Fuseli in the RA Collection
7 results
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Thomas Holloway
Christ at the Sepulchre: A scene from Raphael, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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John Corner
Head of Christ, December 1791
Etching with engraving
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After George Henry Harlow
Portrait of Henry Fuseli, R.A., 1834
Stipple- and line-engraving
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After Moses Haughton the younger
Portrait of Henry Fuseli RA, 1808
Stipple-engraving
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After Moses Haughton the younger
Portrait of Henry Fuseli RA
Stipple-engraving
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George Dance RA
Portrait of Henry Fuseli, R.A., 2 June 1793
Pencil and pink chalk on cream wove paper
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Henry Singleton
The Royal Academicians in General Assembly, 1795
Oil on canvas
Associated books
14 results
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Henry Fuseli RA
Lectures on painting, delivered at The Royal Academy, by Henry Fuseli, P.P. ; with additional observations and notes - London: 1820
04/3301
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Henry Fuseli RA
The Life And Writings Of Henry Fuseli, Esq. M.A. R.A. Keeper, And Professor Of Painting To The Royal Academy In London; Member Of The First Class Of The Academy Of St. Luke At Rome. The Former Written, And The Latter Edited By John Knowles, F.R.S. Corresponding Member Of The Philosophical Society At Rotterdam, His Executor. In Three Volumes. Vol. I. (-III.) - London:: [1831]
05/3669
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Henry Fuseli RA
Lectures On Painting, Delivered At The Royal Academy March 1801, By Henry Fuseli, P.P. With Additional Observations And Notes. - London:
03/2265
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Matthew Pilkington
A Dictionary Of Painters, From The Revival Of The Art To The Present Period; By The Rev. M. Pilkington, A.M. A New Edition, With Considerable Alterations, Additions, An Appendix, And An Index, By Henry Fuseli, R.A. [Epigraph] - London:: 1805.
06/3141