The Nightmare

Henry Fuseli

1781 · Oil on canvas · Detroit Institute of Arts

Size4:3 ratio

Frame

$79Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Nightmare

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

The Cardsharps

3 × $79 at 32 × 24 in, unframed = $237 → $213.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Henry Fuseli (1741–1825)
Year: 1781
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 101.6 × 127 cm
Collection: Detroit Institute of Arts
Movement: Romanticism

A woman in white lies flung back across a bed with her head and arms hanging over the edge while a squat incubus crouches on her chest and a horse with blind, glowing eyes pushes its head through the red curtains behind. Fuseli painted it in 1781 and showed it at the Royal Academy in 1782, where it caused a sensation and was engraved within months; it hung in Freud's waiting room, was parodied by Rowlandson and Gillray and has been the model for every picture of a bad dream since. The mare of the title is a demon, not the horse, which is Fuseli's visual pun. The picture is thought to carry his unrequited passion for Anna Landolt, whose portrait is on the back. The Detroit Institute of Arts bought it in 1955.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A woman in white flung back across a bed beneath a crouching demon and a wild-eyed horse, in white, red and black, for a study, library or hallway at 32×24 in black. Deep red, charcoal or dark green walls suit the melodrama; pair it with Saturn or The Sleep of Reason.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Romanticism painting
Era: 18th century (1781)
Orientation: Landscape
Mood: grand
Rooms: hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 32×24. Prints at 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard; 32×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is The Nightmare in the public domain?

Yes. Henry Fuseli (1741–1825) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Detroit Institute of Arts.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 16×12, 24×18 and 32×24 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Nightmare painted, and in what medium?

The Nightmare dates from 1781 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 101.6 × 127 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 32×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 24×18 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Nightmare we'd choose 32×24. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

The Nightmare (Henry Fuseli) — The Nightmare · Henry Fuseli · 1781. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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