The Nightmare

An incubus — the medieval demon of sexual nightmares — crouches on the chest of a sleeping woman. Behind her, a horse pushes its head through the curtains, eyes pale and pupil-less. The horse is a deliberate pun: 'nightmare' (a sleep demon, from Old English 'mare') and 'mare' (a female horse). Fuseli painted the title twice, once as creature, once as animal. The painting scandalised 1782 London. It made his career. Now at Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit @diadetroit