Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent (1790)
What stood out to me in this painting was the subject matter, a story told about a mythical figure fighting a mythical monster. In class we have read similar stories about other such figures, and it wouldn’t be so odd here to maybe see Alexander the great or Mandeville fighting one of these great monsters. Fuseli also found importance in capturing mythical figures from beyond the catholic cannon which also opened the way for other artists to capture more diverse cultures and stories. Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent is stunningly depicted and additionally marks a change from painting with a moralizing subject to ones with more socially monstrous meanings.