Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet by Henry Fuseli (Interpretation and Analysis)
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| Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet Source: Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image Collection |
I’ve written before about my deep affection for the work of Henry Fuseli. His work is most closely aligned with the Romantic movement, which drew its inspiration from emotion and individualism. Thus, it’s unsurprising that his work is steeped in melodrama (which I always find appealing).
Fuseli often drew his subjects from the work of Shakespeare, which, naturally, is an excellent source of dramatic content. This painting—entitled Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet—is modeled on one of the final scenes of Romeo and Juliet, in which Romeo murders Paris before killing himself.
As I noted above, dramatic is the perfect word to describe this painting. In fact, Fuseli often based his paintings on theatrical performances, so his paintings are dramatic in quite a literal sense.
Here, Fuseli employs a loose, expressive style and stark contrast to capture the dark and tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. The result is an arresting painting that immediately captures the viewers’ attention. Fuseli captures Romeo just as he plunges his sword into Paris’ chest; his lunging body dominates the canvas, in medias res, so to speak. To the left, Paris’ body tumbles stiffly backwards, obviously dead. Juliet’s corpse (although the audience knows she’s not really dead) glows with a ghostly light in the background. Her body is an unnerving shade of bright white, unnatural even for a dead body. She seems to be illuminated from within, drawing the viewers’ eye directly to her body.
Aside from the shining body of Juliet, the rest of the painting is extraordinarily dark, with Paris and Romeo almost melting into the stark blackness of the background. This extreme contrast is what makes the painting so visually engaging. The interaction of light and dark is striking, even startling, underlining the profound and deadly consequences of Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love.
Although Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet is by no means Fuseli’s finest work, it is a triumph of Romantic painting. The piece immediately summons strong emotion in viewers, banking on shock and awe for maximum visual impact. Like, I said, dramatic really is the best word for it.
Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.
Fuseli often drew his subjects from the work of Shakespeare, which, naturally, is an excellent source of dramatic content. This painting—entitled Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet—is modeled on one of the final scenes of Romeo and Juliet, in which Romeo murders Paris before killing himself.
As I noted above, dramatic is the perfect word to describe this painting. In fact, Fuseli often based his paintings on theatrical performances, so his paintings are dramatic in quite a literal sense.
Here, Fuseli employs a loose, expressive style and stark contrast to capture the dark and tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. The result is an arresting painting that immediately captures the viewers’ attention. Fuseli captures Romeo just as he plunges his sword into Paris’ chest; his lunging body dominates the canvas, in medias res, so to speak. To the left, Paris’ body tumbles stiffly backwards, obviously dead. Juliet’s corpse (although the audience knows she’s not really dead) glows with a ghostly light in the background. Her body is an unnerving shade of bright white, unnatural even for a dead body. She seems to be illuminated from within, drawing the viewers’ eye directly to her body.
Aside from the shining body of Juliet, the rest of the painting is extraordinarily dark, with Paris and Romeo almost melting into the stark blackness of the background. This extreme contrast is what makes the painting so visually engaging. The interaction of light and dark is striking, even startling, underlining the profound and deadly consequences of Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love.
Although Romeo stabs Paris at the bier of Juliet is by no means Fuseli’s finest work, it is a triumph of Romantic painting. The piece immediately summons strong emotion in viewers, banking on shock and awe for maximum visual impact. Like, I said, dramatic really is the best word for it.
Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.
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