Why Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting of a sleeping woman became a cultural sensation
In short: When Henry Fuseli unveiled The Nightmare in 1782, the London public was shocked by its overt sexuality and haunting imagery. This breakthrough work, featuring a demonic incubus and a mysterious horse, bridged the gap between ancient folklore and modern psychoanalysis, leaving an indelible mark on Gothic literature and art history.
The Nightmare depicts a woman in a deep, lifeless sleep, draped over a bed with an ape-like incubus crouching on her chest. Emerging from red velvet curtains, a horse with pupil-less eyes watches the scene. Fuseli used dramatic chiaroscuro to contrast the woman's brilliant colouration against darker background tones. While the painting lacks the literary or religious themes common in his other works, it draws heavily on the etymology of 'nightmare'—derived from the Scandinavian 'mara,' a spirit believed to suffocate sleepers. The horse serves as a visual pun on the term, referencing folkloric tales of demons that possessed those sleeping alone.
Art historians often interpret the painting through the lens of Fuseli’s unrequited love for Anna Landholdt. After his marriage proposal was rejected in 1779, Fuseli wrote passionately to his friend Johann Kaspar Lavater about his fantasies. H. W. Janson suggested the sleeping woman represents Landholdt, with the demon acting as a surrogate for the artist himself. This personal anguish aligns with the painting's Gothic tone, which influenced Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein. The description of the murdered Elizabeth Lavenza mirrors the pose of Fuseli’s subject, and the demon’s symbolic attempt to forestall a marriage parallels the monster’s revenge on Victor Frankenstein.
The painting’s fame grew through widespread engravings and political parodies, where the incubus was used to ridicule figures like Napoleon Bonaparte and Lord Nelson. In the 20th century, the work became a touchstone for psychological theorists. Sigmund Freud kept a print of the painting in his Vienna apartment, and Carl Jung later featured it in his 1964 book, Man and His Symbols. Whether viewed as a representation of sublimated sexual instincts, a personal portrait of lost love, or a pioneer of the unconscious, The Nightmare remains a unique, enduring exploration of the unexplored regions of dreams.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Nightmare
- Also: Art Institute of Chicago — A Nightmare · CC0 (data); description CC BY 4.0
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