A painting by Henry Fuseli (1741–1825), has always fascinated me. I felt it illustrated perfectly my feeling after waking from a nightmare. Yes, there were scary things in my dreams, but the lasting experience was in my chest. My breath was taken, it felt as if a great weight was pressing me into the mattress.

Upon waking, it wasn’t the images that concerned me, it was oxygen that I needed! Years later, I discovered this painting by Fuseli and I saw the skill of being able to craft an image that was far more powerful than words. To see this gremlin perched upon the chest, looking back out at the viewer chilled me to the bone. And, of course, the strange horse head peeking out from the curtain was a secondary emphasis.

Unfortunately, the painter did not know that the etymology of “nightmare” does not include a horse. It is a two part word combining “night” and “maere”, meaning night goblin, or night demon. So he was correct in illustrating the odd little creature sitting on the chest of the woman sleeping.

For every image made there is a moment of thought directed to the meaning. Why was this made? Dozens of possibilities can flood your mind, and often most are dismissed, leaving just a few that are most likely. In paintings like this the question is answered almost immediately.

I have often seen other paintings of reclined figures in sleep, mostly illustrating the curves of the figure, and the folds of the drapery. But there is always a brief moment where I consider the weight that might be pressing the figure into the mattress