Artwork Information

In 'Aphorisms on Art' Fuseli responded to traditional art theory which insisted that to be effective a work which found its source in literature must refer to a specific moment… 'The middle moment, the moment of suspense, the crisis…big with the past and pregnant with the future...' This turning point in a narrative had to be easily identified by the viewing public. Auckland's oil sketch epitomises this moment for Macbeth; the death's head moth in the background reinforces the witches' message and prefigures the tragedy that is to unfold. (Monsters and Maidens, 2004)