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Saul and the Witch of Endor

Drawing
1777 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Fuseli, Henry (artist)
Place of origin
Rome (drawn)

One of the central artists of the Romantic Movement in Britain, the Swiss-born Henry Fuseli was also the most unconventional. This drawing illustrates the Old Testament story which relates how the spirit of the Prophet Samuel, raised from the dead, predicts the death of Saul (seen on the right here) and the defeat of the Israelites. Fuseli’s concern with expressing extreme psychological states led him to devise a visual vocabulary of fluid, exaggerated forms.


Object details

Category
Drawings
Object type
Drawing
TitleSaul and the Witch of Endor
Materials and techniques
drawn with pen and sepia, washed
Paper
Pen
Sepia
Drawing (Image-Making)
Wash Technique
Brief description
Fuseli, Henry; Study for 'Saul and the Witch of Endor'; The sorceress has raised the spirit of Samuel, while Saul has fainted in his attendant's arms; Dated; Drawn with pen and sepia, washed; English School; Rome; 1777.
Physical description
Study for 'Saul and the Witch of Endor'; The sorceress has raised the spirit of Samuel, while Saul has fainted in his attendant's arms; slight sketches of two figures behind in pencil; Dated Roma, Sept. 77; Drawn with pen and sepia, washed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 9.8in
  • Width: 14.3in
Original measurements converted from fractional inches into decimal inches (rounded to one decimal place). Dimensions taken from: DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
Style
English School
Marks and inscriptions
Dated Roma, Sept. 77.
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Subjects depicted
Men
Witch
Saul
Witch of Endor
Samuel
Summary
One of the central artists of the Romantic Movement in Britain, the Swiss-born Henry Fuseli was also the most unconventional. This drawing illustrates the Old Testament story which relates how the spirit of the Prophet Samuel, raised from the dead, predicts the death of Saul (seen on the right here) and the defeat of the Israelites. Fuseli’s concern with expressing extreme psychological states led him to devise a visual vocabulary of fluid, exaggerated forms.
Bibliographic references
  • Owens, Susan, The Art of Drawing British Masters and Methods since 1600, V&A Publishing, London, 2013, p. 63, fig. 43
  • DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
  • Nancy L. Pressly, The Fuseli Circle in Rome: Early Romantic Art of the 1770s (New Haven: Yale Center for British Art, 1979), no.42, p.41
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
DYCE.777

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Record createdNovember 9, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1140000/saul-and-the-witch-of-drawing-fuseli-henry/
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