1796
oil
canvas
From the collection of National Gallery
Titania and Bottom is a 1796 oil by Henry Fuseli, a British Romanticism work, held at National Gallery.
This painting shows a woman and a man in a forest. The woman, Titania, is standing on the left, wearing a white dress and a crown of flowers. She is holding a wand and looking down at the man, Bottom, who is sitting on the ground, wearing a donkey's head. There are other people and creatures around them, like fairies and animals. The painting is very detailed and colorful, with lots of different textures and patterns. The woman's dress is flowing and shiny, and the man's donkey head is very realistic. The background is dark and shadowy, which makes the figures stand out. If you like this painting, you might also like the work of artist Henry Fuseli.
Titania and Bottom is an oil painting by the Anglo-Swiss painter Henry Fuseli. It dates to around 1790 and is in Tate Britain, in London. It was commissioned for the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery and depicts a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Henry Fuseli had become familiar with William Shakespeare's plays as a student in Zürich. He used them as the basis for paintings throughout his career. He became famous for his treatment of supernatural matters, which gave a special appeal to A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with plays like The Tempest, Hamlet and Macbeth. Titania and Bottom was commissioned by the publisher John Boydell for his Shakespeare Gallery. Fuseli also made a large pendant for Boydell's gallery, Titania's Awakening, which depicts a later moment from the same scene.
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The painting depicts a moment from the first scene of the fourth act of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania, Queen of the Fairies, is under the influence of a love potion, given to her by her husband Oberon to punish her for her pride. The potion has made her fall in love with the weaver Nick Bottom, who in turn is under a spell which has transformed his head into that of an ass. Titania stands next to the seated Bottom. Her right hand is raised and holds a wand and her left hand rests on the donkey's head. They are surrounded by a group of beings of different sizes,…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Henry Fuseli was a Swiss painter, draughtsman, and writer on art who spent much of his career in Britain.
See the richer artist page
