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Lady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers
Artist	Henry Fuseli
Year	1812
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	127 cm × 101.6 cm (50 in × 40.0 in)
Location	Tate Britain, London

Lady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers is an oil on canvas painting by the Swiss-British artist Henry Fuseli, created in 1812. The work is held at the Tate Britain, in London.

History and description

Fuseli was a great admirer of William Shakespeare; he himself had translated the play Macbeth to German. He created several paintings inspired by Shakespeare's works. This painting, most likely a sketch for an intended larger work, represents a passage from the second scene of the second act of the same play. In this scene the protagonist, Macbeth, holds at arm's length the still bloody daggers with which he has just killed King Duncan, while his wife Lady Macbeth, the instigator of the regicide, signals him to be silent while rushing towards her husband to disarm him. Macbeth appears remorseful, while his wife appears more confident. The scene has a fantastical appearance; the characters resemble glowing spectres before a dark background.

References

1. Tate Modern
2. Tate Modern
3. Great Paintings: Lady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers by Henry Fuseli, Medium, 21 March 2020
4. Henry Fuseli 1741-1825, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1975, p.59, reproduced p.58.

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• 1812 paintings
• Paintings by Henry Fuseli
• Paintings in the Tate galleries
• Works based on Macbeth
• Paintings based on works by William Shakespeare
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