Henry Fuseli (7 February 1741-17 April 1825), born Johann Heinrich Füssli, was a Swiss-born artist, draughtsman and artistic commentator and critic. His paintings, which frequently featured elements of the supernatural and diabolical, were highly influential in the British art scene of the time, and later made an impact on American horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
In Lovecraft's Works[]
"The Colour Out of Space"[]
Lovecraft describes the titular alien entity in the line "It was a scene from a vision of Fuseli, and over all the rest reigned that riot of luminous amorphousness, that alien and undimensioned rainbow of cryptic poison from the well—seething, feeling, lapping, reaching, scintillating, straining, and malignly bubbling in its cosmic and unrecognisable chromaticism."
"Pickman's Model"[]
When describing the paintings of artist Richard Upton Pickman, Lovecraft compares his work to that of several artists including Fuseli. "I don’t have to tell you why a Fuseli really brings a shiver while a cheap ghost-story frontispiece merely makes us laugh," his narrator says.
Commonplace Book[]
In a 1924 entry, Lovecraft writes "Art note—fantastick daemons of Salvator Rosa or Fuseli (trunk-proboscis)."
In Other Works[]
Pickman's Gallery[]
Matthew Carpenter's 2018 anthology of stories about and inspired by "Pickman's Model" features cover art by Fuseli.