The Duke of Gloucester Lying in Wait for Lady Anne at the Funeral Procession of Her Father-in-law, King Henry VI (recto); Standing Male Nude, Leaning Forward (verso)
1760/67
Medium
Pen and brown ink, and brush and brown and gray wash, over graphite (recto), and graphite (verso), on tan laid paper
Dimensions
63.8 × 87.9 cm (25 1/8 × 34 5/8 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
113890
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this scene from Shakespeare’s play Richard III, the villainous Duke of Gloucester skulks behind a pier as the funeral procession for King Henry VI—accompanied by the king’s daughter-in-law, Lady Anne—passes in the background. Her arm raised, Anne curses the Duke, who has murdered both King Henry and her husband. In the next moment, Gloucester will join the procession and brazenly attempt to persuade her to marry him. Fuseli’s enshadowed duke—a study in evil—is closed and compressed, his arms...
About the Artist
Henry Fuseli · 1741–1825
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...