Henry Fuseli

A Woman on a balcony with high dressed hair and hat

A Woman on a balcony with high dressed hair and hat by Henry Fuseli

Artwork Detail

Mrs Fuseli is the model for this remarkable creature. She appears repeatedly in Fuseli’s work, sometimes as a source of pleasure, and in others as an aggressive and challenging virago with an underlying aura of violence. Fuseli was drawn to texts that referred to the aggressive nature of women, and there is no doubt he gained erotic pleasure from capturing this aspect of femininity. Here the woman’s costume appears as a form of bondage, her waist tightly constrained, leather straps around her wrists and a collar that threatens to engulf her face, set off by a bizarre little hat perched on her excessive wig.

Title
A Woman on a balcony with high dressed hair and hat
Artist/creator
Henry Fuseli
Production date
circa 1790-circa 1792
Medium
pen with black, blue, pink and yellow wash, body colour
Dimensions
234 x 187 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1965
Accession no
1965/45
Copyright
No known copyright restrictions
Department
International Art
Display status
Not on display

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