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Henry Fuseli

2 of 11 portraits of Henry Fuseli

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Henry Fuseli

by John Opie
oil on canvas, feigned oval, exhibited 1794
30 in. x 25 in. (762 mm x 635 mm)
Given by J.S. North and Lord North, 1885
Primary Collection
NPG 744

Sitterback to top

  • Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), Painter. Sitter in 11 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 3 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • John Opie (1761-1807), Portrait and history painter. Artist or producer associated with 151 portraits, Sitter in 13 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Swiss by birth and a clergyman by training, Fuseli came to London in 1764 and worked as a translator and book illustrator. Encouraged by Reynolds to take up painting, he went to Rome in 1770. On his return to London in 1779 he exhibited works of great power and imagination. His inclination towards the fantastic was given scope in his paintings for Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery and his own Milton Gallery.

Linked publicationsback to top

Events of 1794back to top

Current affairs

Treason Trials against John Horne Tooke, Thomas Hardy and John Thelwall take place amidst fears of domestic revolution. Their acquittal marks the most dramatic victory of the cause.
Leader of the Opposition, Charles James Fox's Libel Bill secures the landmark right of trial by jury for the accused.
Thomas Muir and the four other Scottish Martyrs who campaigned for parliamentary reform were transported to Australia for sedition.

Art and science

Edward Jenner discovers the smallpox inoculation after realising that those who worked with cattle and caught cowpox developed immunity.
Drury Lane Theatre re-opens under the management of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. In competition with the Covent Garden Theatre it featured a new pit and boxes designed by architect Henry Holland.

International

Maximilien Robespierre, member of the French dictatorial Committee of Public Safety is arrested and executed as part of a conspiracy by enemies who disliked his anti-extremist stance and zeal for social reform.
Campaign in the Low Countries under the Duke of York. Allies are defeated and French reoccupy Brussels. British troops retreat to Holland.

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