The Night-Hag Visiting Lapland Witches
Item
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Title
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The Night-Hag Visiting Lapland Witches
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Rights
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain.
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Creator
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Henry Fuseli (1741–1825)
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Date
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1796
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Description
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Painting illustrating a scene from Paradise Lost where hellhounds and night-hags are described: "follow the night-hag when, called, / In secret, riding through the air she comes, Lured with the smell of infant blood, to dance / With Lapland witches, while the laboring moon Eclipses at their charms." The night-hag (or succubus) is the focus of this painting and she is portrayed nude with grey skin and wild, unkempt hair, hovering over an infant she intends to kill or consume. She is looking over her shoulder at the lighter section of the night sky, the incoming hellhounds, and dancing witches. There are two hands holding onto a ladder and a sharp knife in the foreground.
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Format
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Painting. Oil on canvas. 101.6 cm. x 126.4 cm.
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Publisher
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The British Museum
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Contributor
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Shaelyn Fett
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Identifier
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1980.411.
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Subject
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Night-hag; Henry Fuseli; 18th century; Paradise Lost.
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Source
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Jpeg file. Unknown photographer. The British Museum Digital Collection. Accessed 10/21/2023. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436423.
