The Nightmare by Henry Füssli: a review of its association with sleep paralysis through the idea of the sublime

Henry Füssli's 1781 painting The Nightmare accurately depicts the characteristics of sleep paralysis while also personifying the sleeper's own sensations. A comprehensive review of his work explores his motivations for depicting parasomnia and the pictorial corporeality inspired by this phenomenon. The analysis uses Burkean aesthetic categories of beauty and the sublime to show how Füssli captured parasomnia under a misogynistic gaze through the sublime. This approach reveals the psychophysical effects on the viewer and the pleasure of scopophilia in Füssli's male gaze, highlighting the iconic and repeated representation of this experience in art.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In this article, we closely examine the pre-Romantic artist Henry Füssli's version of The Nightmare (1781), observing how he not only accurately depicted the described and identified characteristics of the sleep disorder known as sleep paralysis, but also personified the affected sleeper's own sensations through his work. We undertake a comprehensive review of his work in order to explore the motivations behind Füssli's interest in depicting parasomnia, and attempt to understand the pictorial corporeality inspired by this phenomenon. To achieve the latter aim, we examined the different determining factors belonging to the Burkean aesthetic categories of beauty and the sublime. This approach highlights how Füssli managed to capture parasomnia in his work under a misogynistic gaze through the idea of the sublime, and the importance of its iconic and repeated representation in art. Through this, we can observe, understand, and precisely interpret the psychophysical effects of this experience on the viewer and detect the pleasure of scopophilia in Füssli's male gaze.