Courtship

Courtship at the V&A shows Fuseli working in a gentler register than his typical dark, intense subjects. Even in lighter themes, however, Fuseli’s treatment carries an undercurrent of psychological tension, reflecting his lifelong interest in the dynamics of power, desire, and vulnerability between the sexes. 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 composition shows Fuseli’s characteristic elongated figures in an intimate setting. His handling balances the decorative requirements of the subject with the psychological intensity that pervades all his work.