Das Gespenst des Dion (The Apparition Appears to Dion Wielding a Broom, Plutarch, Dion, 55)

Art Historical Context

In the dramatic print *Das Gespenst des Dion (The Apparition Appears to Dion Wielding a Broom, Plutarch, Dion, 55)* from 1806, Henry Fuseli's visionary design is masterfully rendered by engraver Johann Heinrich Lips. Drawing from Plutarch's *Life of Dion*, chapter 55, the scene captures a supernatural moment: the ancient Syracusan leader Dion confronts a ghostly apparition while brandishing a humble broom, blending classical history with eerie otherworldliness. Fuseli, a pioneer of Romanticism famed for nightmarish visions like *The Nightmare*, infuses the composition with theatrical tension, highlighting figures of men and women in a tableau of fear and defiance. Crafted as an outline engraving and etching, this technique employs crisp, fluid lines to reproduce Fuseli's dynamic drawing with remarkable clarity and economy. Popular in the early 19th century for book illustrations and scholarly editions, it allowed wide dissemination of classical texts, making ancient tales accessible to enlightened audiences. The plate's generous dimensions (9 15/16 × 12 11/16 in.) emphasize Fuseli's bold contrasts and expressive poses. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Jenny Philippsohn, 1955), this work exemplifies the era's fusion of neoclassicism and Gothic revival, bridging antiquity with modern imagination. Visitors will appreciate how it evokes the thrill of history's uncanny shadows.