“Henry Fuseli’s Pragmatic Use of

Aesthetics: His Epic Illustrations of Macbeth”

by Karen JundoJoyNov. 2, 2005

Main Argument

Henry Fuseli’s illustration of Macbeth stresses on sublimation of Shakespeare’s play and on influencing spectators’ emotion.

Context

• Johann Jakob Bodmer and Sturm und Drang

• Johann Georg Sulzer and Allegory

• Edmund Burke and Astonishment

Fuseli’s Categories of Painting

• Epic

• Dramatic

• Historic

Fuseli’s “Epicalization” of Macbeth

• In Fuseli’s categorization, Shakespeare’s works should be classed into “dramatic” works.

• In Fuseli’s illustrations, however, he tries to convey the “astonishing effect” of the “epic” category and attempts to arouse the spectators’ emotion.

Fuseli’s Means of Epicalization

• Stormy Landscape

• Expressive Positions of Characters

• Universal and Time-transcending dimension

The Witches Appear to Macbeth and Banquo

Naked body and expressive position

Macbeth Questions the Apparition of the Armed Head

Armed Head

Garrick and Mrs. Pritchard in Macbeth

The Dagger

Macbeth, Banquo and the Witches on the Heath

The Three Witches

Contemporary Appreciation

• “Artist Sublime” and “Sublimest Spirit”

• Spectators’ familiarity with Shakespeare as impediment to emotional feedback

Documentation

Jundo, Karen. “Henry Fuseli’s Pragmatic Use of Aesthetics: His Epic Illustrations of Macbeth.” Word & Image 19 (2003): 138-50.

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