Symbolism In Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare

Waking up abruptly, covered in a cold sweat, and feeling like an indescribable force has just smacked life in its face may not be the best way to realize that a nightmare has just occured. But is this the same phenomenon that Henry Fuseli thought of when he painted The Nightmare? While Fuseli often made his paintings related to fantastic and gothic themes, but this painting may have had much more behind it. The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli could express secretivity and immorality because of the symbolism within the painting with the incubus and mare inside the painting, the color used, and the lifestyle that may have influenced Fuseli. Upon first glance of the painting, its dark. There is a young lady sprawled out, almost falling, and she is …show more content…
The woman is the lightest thing on the canvas, with pale skin and a white dress. The white dress could represent innocence, and purity as white normally does, and in the center of her chest, there is a gold piece, which appears to be in the shape of a heart and it is close to her chest. This gives off the impression that the woman herself is pure, and of good being. The incubus is a dull yellow-orange color. A muddy yellow represents illness, and darker orange is distrust, both of them are classified as warmer colors, which usually implies heat, and danger. Some of the drapes and cloth around the woman are red, which is has many meanings behind itself. Often, red is seen for blood, and danger, but can also relate to love, and passion. In this case, it would seem more reasonable to say it is for danger and blood because of the woman’s body language, showing discomfort and pain. The blood could also represent the wars that were happening during the time the painting was made, including the Revolutionary War. While the woman is bright, everything else around her is dark, which could represent that she is surrounded by corruption, or is about to be corrupted by something. The incubus could be that something to corrupt her, because of what an incubus does. The bracelet or cuff that is on her wrist is darker than the rest of her, which could mean she is committed to the corruption, or being forced into