The Apotheosis Of Penelope Boothby.

The Apotheosis of Penelope Boothby depicts the apotheosis of a child who died young, a subject that reflects the high infant mortality of the 18th century and the intense emotional response it provoked. Fuseli’s treatment elevates the memorial into a visionary scene of transcendence that moves beyond conventional funerary art. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays Michelangelesque muscular figures in extremis, supernatural and nightmare subjects, violent foreshortening, dark Gothic atmosphere, theatrical excess.

The visionary composition shows the child’s spirit ascending with Fuseli’s characteristic combination of classical form and supernatural atmosphere. Dramatic lighting creates the otherworldly quality appropriate to an apotheosis scene.