Studies of Nudes
n.d.
Medium
Black crayon or charcoal heightened with white, on a fragment of tan laid paper, laid down on white Japanese tissue
Dimensions
12.9 × 53 cm (5 1/8 × 20 7/8 in.)
Classification
crayon
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
159210
Art Historical Context
Henry Fuseli's *Studies of Nudes* offers a captivating glimpse into the preparatory world of one of the Romantic era's most dramatic artists. Born in Switzerland in 1741 and later thriving in England, Fuseli was renowned for his intense, fantastical depictions of the human form, often drawing from mythology and the supernatural, as seen in his iconic *The Nightmare*. This undated sheet, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings department, captures multiple nude figures in dynamic poses across its elongated 12.9 × 53 cm format—a fragment of tan laid paper preserved on white Japa...
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...