Sketch for "Oath on the Rütli" (recto), Female Figure (verso)

1779–81 (recto); 1785–90 (verso)

Although Fuseli spent most of his career in England, he was born Johann Heinrich Füssli in Zurich, Switzerland. This is a preliminary study for the artist’s first important commission, The Oath on the Rütli, in Zurich’s city hall. Both the study and the final painting depict the oath sworn on the Rütli meadow in 1291 by representatives of three Swiss cantons (territories) against the ambitions of their Habsburg overlords.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Henry Fuseli (Swiss, active in England, 1741–1825)

Date

1779–81 (recto); 1785–90 (verso)

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

76 × 67.5 cm (29 15/16 × 26 9/16 in.); Framed: 79.4 × 69.3 cm (31 1/4 × 27 1/4 in.)

Origin

United Kingdom

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Anonymous gift