Can't find the painting that you are looking for? No problem! We can paint any painting in any size, even if it's not listed on our website. Simply make a request and we will get back to you with a quote within a few hours.
Optional - receive your painting ready to hang. Note we are only able to ship framed paintings up to a certain size. Once the maximum size is reached, the framing option is automatically disabled. If ordered without a frame the painting will arrive rolled inside a protective tube with an extra 1.5" white canvas on all sides so you can easily frame it in any local frame shop.
Johann Henry Fuseli's 1781 canvas The Nightmare is an enduring and iconic image that has resisted classification and reinterpretation ever since its seminal unveiling in 1782. First exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, Fuseli's imagined reproduction of a bad dream captured the public and cultural imagination of late eighteenth-century England, remaining firmly engrained in the popular mindset well into the nineteenth century following the circulation of an affordable print reproduction. The Nightmare is now a recognizable icon in Western painting, capturing the ominous manifestations of the mental world and prefiguring Freud's interpretations of dreams by over a century. Sensational and bombastic by the standards of the time, Fuseli's work is more comparable to popular caricature than fine art. Yet, The Nightmare itself became the departure point for cartoons and caricature, impacting upon on both the Academic tradition of English art and capturing the imagination of the masses. A printmaker himself Fuseli was endowed with a uniquely entrepreneurial spirit for circulating his work although, not realising the popular appeal of The Nightmare, he allowed other printmakers to make a great deal of money from the reproductions they pressed of this masterwork.
The painting itself depicts both the subject and the image; the effect of the nightmare and the nightmare manifested within the frame. A sleeping woman is visited by an incubus which, seated comfortably upon her stomach, appears to be there to stay. The pale complexion of the sleeping figure is juxtaposed by the haunting hues of the macabre beasts. Within the fashionable and contemporary interior Fuseli's viewers were meant to see themselves reflected in the visited victim. A work of powerful contrasts builds to a remarkable crescendo of dread and fear. Condemned by many critics of the time as scandalously sexual, Fuseli's masterpiece appears to embody the linguistic root of the word nightmare wherein a beast straddles the chest of the helpless sleeper
Real Oil Paints, Real Brushes, Real Artists, Real Art. The Certificate of Authenticity which arrives with every painting provides an assurance and verifies the authenticity of the hand painted fine art reproduction you purchased. Each oil painting is created by hand using only the finest canvas and oil paints available.
Important Notes About Your Painting:
If you have any request to alter your reproduction of The Nightmare 1781,
you must email us after placing your order and we'll have an artist contact you.
If you have another image of The Nightmare 1781
that you would like the artist to work from, please include it as an attachment. Otherwise, we will reproduce the above image for you exactly as it is.
Free shipping is included in the price of the painting. Once the painting is ready and dry enough to ship, we will roll it and ship it in a sturdy cardboard tube.
We always ship express via courier to ensure your order reaches you as soon as possible - normally within three business days. The total delivery time from the moment you place your order until the package is delivered to your door is normally between three to four weeks.
If, in the unlikely event you were dissatisfied with the painting after reviewing it in person, it can be returned for a full refund for up to 365 days after delivery.
When you receive the painting; you are free to return it for more revisions or else for a full refund minus our actual shipping cost -- which is, on average, $25 per painting.
1st Art Gallery provides a full warranty covering manufacturing and material defects for paintings purchased from our website. The warranty covers damage for normal use. Damage caused by incidents such as accidents or inappropriate use are not covered.
Depending on the degree of damage to the warranted painting, it will either be repaired or replaced. This warranty service is provided free of charge.
When purchasing a painting on its own, it will arrive rolled inside a secure tube with an extra 1.5" of white canvas on all sides so you can easily frame it in any local frame shop.
You may choose to purchase your painting framed, in which case, it will arrive "ready to hang". We offer more than 20 beautiful models, all hand finished and expertly assembled by our experienced framers.
Note that for safety reasons we can only frame up to a certain size. Once the maximum size is reached the framing option is automatically disabled.
If you are planning to frame your painting yourself,
use an existing frame, or frame it locally, you may choose to order your painting with a stretching service,
meaning that it will arrive mounted on wooden bars.
If you're considering not framing your painting at all, you may opt for a Gallery Wrap. The term Gallery Wrap refers to the way the canvas is stretched, which is by wrapping it around thick stretcher bars, about 1.5 inch thick, with the canvas being secured to the back rather than the sides of those bars.
All orders ship with UPS, FedEx or DHL and will arrive directly to your home or office. A tracking number will be emailed to you as soon as the order leaves our studio so you can track it online. All orders ship express and usually arrive within 4-5 days from the shipping date. Due to shipping restraints, many of our framed, stretched, and oversize paintings may take 6-21 days for arrival depending on the safest route determined by the postal service.