GEMÄLDE DES 19. JAHRHUNDERTS 27. MÄRZ 2026

Abb. 1 Henry Fuseli RA, Rosicrucius's Sepulchre, 20 August 1803. Line-engraving. 84 x 72 mm. © Royal Academy of Arts, London. (RA ref. 07/1639) 3215 JOHANN HEINRICH FÜSSLI (Zurich 1741–1825 London) The Tomb of Rosicrucius. 1803 Oil on canvas. 92 × 77.5 cm. Certificate: Dr Gert Schiff, New York, 26 April 1975. Provenance: – Collection of Prof. François Daulte, Lausanne. – Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Villa Favorita, Lugano Castagnola, inv. no. 481 D (verso with label), acquired from the above in June 1976. – Private collection, Switzerland, from May 1993. Exhibited: London 1804, ‘The Exhibition of the Royal Academy, M.DCCCIV’, Somerset House, London, 30 April–16 June 1804, no. 90. Literature: – Gert Schiff: ‘Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1741–1825’, text and catalogue raisonné, Zurich 1973, vol. 1, p. 565, no. 1 217, and vol. 2, p. 376 (ill.). – Gert Schiff and Paola Viotto: ‘L’opera completa di Johann Heinrich Füssli’, Milan 1977, p. 104, no. 246 (ill.). – Gertrude Borghero (ed.): ‘Collezione Thyssen-Bornemisza, catalogo ragionato delle opere esposte’, Villa Favorita, Castagnola 1981, p. 350, no. 481 D (ill.). Born in Zurich in 1741, from the mid-1760s onwards John Henry Füssli found himself constantly drawn towards London, eventually settling there permanently in 1779, where he quickly established himself as one of the most celebrated artists in the British capi- tal alongside masters such as Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) and Benjamin West (1738–1820). On 10 February 1790 Füssli was elec- ted a full member of the Royal Academy of Arts, and in June 1799 he was appointed Professor of Painting. His prominent position within the London art world brought him numerous prestigious commissions, including a substantial con- tribution to the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery, a project whereby Shakespeare’s literary works were interpreted by a wide range of painters. Füssli’s deep engagement with literature is also evident in his in-depth pictorial response to the writings of the English poet John Milton (1608–1647) and the German poet and writer Christoph Martin Wieland (1733–1813). He also drew ideas for his paintings from numerous other literary sources. Thepresentwork, offeredhereat auction, powerfully illustrates a key scene from an essay by the English writer Eustace Budgell (1686– 1737). Thisessaywasoriginallypublishedon15May1712asno. 379 inthecelebratedLondonperiodical ‘TheSpectator’andwasreprin- ted in 1803 by John Sharp in volume 9 of his 24-volume series ‘The British Classics’. Füssli painted the present composition in the same year as the model for an engraving by William Sharp (1749– 1824), which was included as an illustration in the reprinted es- say (see ill. 1). Inhisessay, Budgell describesa tendencyamongscholars towith- hold knowledge useful to humanity, either entirely or by expres- sing it in such an obscure manner that only a small circle of initia- tes can access it. As an example, he cites the legend of Christian Rosenkreutz, or Rosicrucius, the founder of Rosicrucianism, anas- sociation of various spiritual communities. According to tradition, Rosicrucius was born in the German-speaking world in 1378 and, during extensive travels in the Orient, acquired a vast body 150