On 7th February 1741 Henry Fuseli was born at Zurich, Switzerland.
1778. James Northcote [aged 31]. Portrait of Henry Fuseli [aged 36].
1780 to 1782. Henry Fuseli [aged 38]. "The two murderers of the Duke of Clarence".
1781. Henry Fuseli [aged 39]. "The Nightmare".
1781. Henry Fuseli [aged 39]. "The Nightmare". The painting was first shown in 1782 at the Royal Academy of London after which it became widely known. Fuseli painted other versions; the original was sold for twenty guineas.
In 1788 Henry Fuseli [aged 46] and Sophia Rawlins were married. She originally one of his models.
In or after 1788. Henry Fuseli [aged 46]. Portrait of Sophia Rawlins, the artist's wife.
1789. Henry Fuseli [aged 47]. "Silence".
Around 1789 Henry Fuseli [aged 47] and Mary Wollstonecraft [aged 29] planned a trip with him to Paris. His wife Sophia Rawlins stopped any communication between the two.
1790. Henry Fuseli [aged 48]. "Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent". Fuseli's diploma work for the Royal Academy
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Around 1790. Henry Fuseli [aged 48]. Portrait of the artist's wife Sophia Rawlins.
1790. Henry Fuseli [aged 48]. "Danaë and Perseus on Seriphos".
1792. Henry Fuseli [aged 50]. "The Apotheosis of Penelope Boothby".
Penelope Boothby: On 11th April 1785 she was born to Brooke Boothby 6th Baronet in Lichfield, Staffordshire [Map]. On 19th March 1791 Penelope Boothby died at Ashbourne Hall, Derbyshire [Map]. She was buried in St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne [Map].
1794. Henry Fuseli [aged 52]. "Milton Dictating to His Daughter".
1794. John Opie [aged 32]. Portrait of Henry Fuseli [aged 52].
1796. Henry Fuseli [aged 54]. "The Night-Hag Visiting Lapland Witches". Hecate, the Greek goddess who presided over witchcraft and magical rites, was historically known as the "Night-Hag," hence the title that the artist gave this work. It illustrates a passage from Paradise Lost by the English poet John Milton
In 1799 Henry Fuseli [aged 57] was appointed Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy.
31st May 1800. Henry Fuseli [aged 59]. Sophia Rawlins, the artist's wife, in profile.
Around 1805. Henry Fuseli [aged 63]. "Ariel".
1817. George Henry Harlow [aged 29]. Portrait of Henry Fuseli [aged 75].
On 17th April 1825 Henry Fuseli [aged 84] died at the house of the Countess of Guildford [aged 55], on Putney Hill