Worth a thousand words...

Recently I was trolling online looking for images of a tired woman. Yeah, that's me, always tired. Anyway, I came across a photo of the painting below. The darn thing just fascinates me. It evokes a different response each time I look at it. All sorts of 'what ifs' go through my head.

When I found the picture the site didn't credit it. I was curious to know who had painted such a fascinating piece. Besides, I also wanted to post it and didn't want to do so uncredited. Consequently I had some research to do.

The painting is called 'The Nightmare' and the artist's name is Henry Fuseli.

Want to know some interesting facts? I know you do, because I did all this research and clicking around so, trust me, you want to know.

It turns out Mr. Fuseli had a love affair with Mary Wollstonecraft. Historical readers might recognize that name as the resident feminist referred to frequently in British historicals. Ms. Wollstonecraft's principal premise was that women were not intellectually inferior to men, they just didn't have the same opportunities for education. Go Mary!

Mr. Fuseli and Ms. Wollstonecraft alas were not meant to be. She did, however, eventually marry and had a daughter Mary Godwin.

Mary Godwin married the poet Percy Shelley. We all know that name. Right? And Mary Godwin is now Mary Shelley. Anybody recognize that name? Mary S. also wrote. You might remember a little book called Frankenstein perhaps?

Connections. Weird stuff huh? I know. Finally the painting. What do you think about when you look at it?