Between Fantasy and Angst: Assessing the Subject and Meaning of Henry Fuseli’s Late Pornographic Drawings, 1800–25.

The article explores the pornographic drawings of artist Henry Fuseli. The author reflects on the psychological and social function of paintings such as "Three Courtesans Operating on the Face of a Bound Man," "Three Women and a Recumbent Man," and "Prostitute Swinging a Whip." The drawings are examined in relation to literature by authors such as the Marquis de Sade and pathology. The author considers the artist's birthplace of Zurich, Switzerland and his artistic treatment of institutions. Other topics include sexual appetite and violence, libertine tendencies of masochism, and the semiotics of fashion.