Instead of depicting the fairies as they appear in traditional woodcuts, dancing in a magic circle on the ground, Fuseli shows them linking arms and swirling, as in a dream or vision, above the sleeping shepherd. Emerging from the darkness they form a vortex of light above his head, which one fairy touches with a dream-inducing wand. Fuseli draws on his imagination for the supernatural creatures that populate the picture. In the bottom left-hand corner a crouching witch has just pulled a flower-headed mandrake out of the ground. In the opposite corner, seated on large stone steps, is Queen Mabs, the bringer of nightmares. Attached to her by a chain is a monster child, the demonic incubus, who points at the sleeping man. Farther up the steps behind them, a naked fairy combing her hair derives from Shropshire folklore. According to legend, these naked creatures entice unsuspecting travellers, overpower them and steal all their clothes.

The building on the right possibly represents the Temple of Diana, since according to Medieval folklore Diana was transformed into a demon and led an army of witches through the sky by night. Alternatively, Fuseli may have intended it to represent the ivory portal, described by Homer and Virgil, through which delusive dreams emerge. The picture was painted by Fuseli for his Milton Gallery and is based on a more detailed drawing in pencil, red chalk and wash (Albertina, Vienna), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1786.

Further reading: 'Henry Fuseli 1741–1825', exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1975, pp.87–88, reproduced p.87. Jeremy Maas, 'Victorian Fairy Painting', exhibition catalogue, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1997. Frances Fowle December 2000