The Painting Consists Of A Woman Who Is Wearing White (Essay Sample)

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The nightmare
The nightmare is a name given to a painting drawn by Henry Fuseli. The painting depicts an image of a young lady in the agony of a bad dream. Although they are other work of art done by Fuseli, the nightmare has earned a favorable spot in the hall of fame. The image is barely large, it measures three and a half feet tall and almost four feet wide. The image is made up of mostly dark colors. However, Fuseli makes a distinct separation as the young woman and the bed she is lying on are made up of lovely and bright colors like white and gold tunes. In this essay, I am going to criticize the choice of the colors and images used in the painting. Is the picture an allegory or an illustration of a literary source, or is it something personal?
The painting consists of a woman who is wearing white clothing. The white dress was a symbol of purity and innocence. The color differs distinctively with the dull colors found in the room. In the painting also, the head and arms of the Lady are hanging limply down indicating that this is no ordinary sleep, but instead a state of paralysis or unconsciousness. Besides her bed, there is a book, a mirror, and an empty flask.
Various interpretations have been made in regards to what each component in the painting depicts. The most popular argument is that the woman lying on the bed is Miss Landholdt, and the creature on top of her is Fuseli. Miss Anna was a woman with whom Fuseli had fallen in love with and who refused to marry her. It is as if Fuseli wanted to pass an aspect of vulnerability. The lady is drawn in white, portraying her goodness and purity. She even seems to emit a heavenly glow. This is juxtaposed to the odd-looking creature. It is as if the artist was trying to contrast the woman’s incorruptibility with the evil world around her
The second component of the nightmare is the creature sitting on her. The creature is known as an imp or an incubus. It was believed at that time that it was a kind of spirit which was capable of having sex with humans at night. While the painting may be suggestive, it is not explicit. The result of this explicit is that it leaves room for the possibility that the woman may be simply dreaming. However, some art critics believe that the image is simply a work of imagination developed from his knowledge of tales of his period. In those tales, individuals believed that the devil had sexual intercourse wi...