Henry Fuseli
A Woman with a fan, standing, seen from the back

Artwork Detail
The model for this study was the artist’s wife. Although often portrayed by Fuseli as a simpering madam, according to her peers she was a modest, decent soul. Although some writers have interpreted the background as a curtain, it may have been a preparatory sketch for an undated painting titled The Ladies of Hastings, which shows three women confronting a pointing man on a cliff, watched by a reclining figure below. Another preparatory sketch shows further variations of the pose, in which the rear figure retains the fan shown in Auckland Art Gallery’s drawing.
- Title
- A Woman with a fan, standing, seen from the back
- Artist/creator
- Production date
- 1791
- Medium
- pencil with blue, brown, black and pink wash, body colour
- Dimensions
- 233 x 188 mm
- Credit line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1965
- Accession no
- 1965/44
- Copyright
- No known copyright restrictions
- Department
- International Art
- Display status
- On display
To find out which artworks are available for print requests and reproduction please enquire here. This service only applies to select artworks in the Gallery's collection.