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Belisane and Parcifal under the Enchantment of Urma

Engraver John Raphael Smith British
After Henry Fuseli Swiss
August 25, 1782
Not on view
To symbolize the body's enslavement to physical desire, Fuseli invented an image that combines elements from the German medieval romance Parzival and Edmund Spenser's Fairie Queen. Small demonic forms rise from a smoking brazier to surround the magician Urma who holds a heavy chain binding the sleeping Belisane and her knightly lover. Smith's mezzotint reproduces a painting Fuseli exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1783.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Belisane and Parcifal under the Enchantment of Urma
  • Engraver: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)
  • Artist: After Henry Fuseli (Swiss, Zürich 1741–1825 London)
  • Date: August 25, 1782
  • Medium: Mezzotint; second state of two
  • Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed close to plate): 18 in. × 22 3/16 in. (45.7 × 56.4 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.570.362
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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