Fingal Mourning Over the Body of Malvina, from Ossian's Berrathon

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The dazzling, otherworldly, glow-in-the-dark effect Girodet achieved in this drawing is a testament to his extraordinary skill as a draftsman and painter, and to his all-consuming desire to be original. Girodet illustrates a scene from a poem purportedly written by the ancient Scottish bard, Ossian, whose work was “discovered” and published in the 1760s. A famous literary hoax, the poems took Europe by storm. Here, Ossian’s father Fingal stands before the body of the dead Malvina, while her spirit ascends from the moonlit water behind him. Above Malvina’s body, spirits sparkle like stars.

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