II - Art Analysis

Elements of "The Nightmare"

    The Nightmare (Fuseli) is an iconic and imaginative oil painting from the late 18th century that depicts a young woman dressed in a white evening gown, lying in an exaggerated pose across a mattress. She appears to be sleeping, her arms hanging nonchalantly above her head and her eyes closed. A nude creature with red eyes and pointed ears sits atop her torso, and behind them stands a black horse, pale in the eyes and nearly completely cloaked in shadow.

The Nightmare (1781)

Henry Fuseli (1741-1825)

    Fuseli's use of different elements of art really helps to strengthen the themes and symbolism depicted in this painting.

    There are aspects of "good v. evil" or "light v. dark". This is supported by the symbology in the painting, that of a gargoyle-like male creature and a literal dark horse, as well as the tones and colors used in the painting. There are patterns in the symbols of the painting: the sleeping woman, the perching creature who has been commonly considered an incubus or mara, "a spirit that, in heathen mythology, was related to torment or to suffocate sleepers" (Paulson), and of course the "Night-Mare". The texture of the artwork is smooth, taking the form of a 2D representation of a three-dimensional space. The lines are flowing and suggestive of movement, rigidness, suppleness, or angularity in anatomical forms, biological features, fabrics, and furniture.

(Line, Shape, Tone, Color, Pattern, Texture, Form)

Fuseli, Henry. The Nightmare. Oil on Canvas, 1781. Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202.

Paulson, Noelle. “Henry Fuseli, the Nightmare.” Khan Academy, 2018, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-england/a/henry-fuseli-the-nightmare.

Artyfactory. “The Visual Elements of Art.” Artyfactory.com, 2014, www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/visual-elements/visual-elements.html.