An Intimate Concert
1814
Medium
graphite on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet: 27.94 × 20 cm (11 × 7 7/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
William B. O'Neal Fund
Accession Number
2015.71.1
Art Historical Context
Henry Fuseli's *An Intimate Concert*1814) is a delicate graphite drawing on laid paper, measuring just 27.94 × 20 cm, capturing the Swiss-born British artist's mastery of line and shadow in his later years. At 73, Fuseli—renowned for his dramatic Romantic paintings like *The Nightmare*—turned to intimate sketches that reveal his fascination with human emotion and theatricality. This work, housed in the National Gallery of thanks to the William B.'Neal Fund, exemplifies his shift toward more personal, chamber-like scenes, evoking the cozy gatherings of musicians in early 19th-century Europe. G...
About the Artist
Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), born Johann Heinrich Füssli in Zürich, was a Swiss-British painter whose visionary works exploring dreams, nightmares, and psychological terror made him one of the most original figures of the Romantic movement. His art bridged Neoclassical discipline with Romantic emotionalism, creating images of supernatural intensity that would influence artists from William Blake to t...