# Milton Dictating to His Daughter

- By: Henry Fuseli (Swiss, active in England, 1741–1825)
- Date: 1794
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 121.2 × 118.7 cm (47 3/4 × 46 3/4 in.); Framed: 142.9 × 130.5 cm (56 1/4 × 51 3/8 in.)
- Culture: Switzerland
- Credit line: Preston O. Morton Memorial Purchase Fund for Older Paintings
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/44739)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/6006b9e7-567a-4fb8-34e2-a120886690fe/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This painting by Swiss artist Henry Fuseli depicts 17th-century English poet John Milton, who became blind in his 40s, dictating his epic poem Paradise Lost. His daughter transcribes his words while another woman listens intently as she sews. A forerunner of the Romantic Movement, Fuseli created drama through chromatic contrast. A cool light illuminates the rosy-cheeked women and casts deep shadows around Milton’s ghostly figure and face. Fuseli created this painting for his Milton Gallery, a self-run enterprise that showcased the artist’s Milton-inspired works. While this entrepreneurial venture failed commercially, it raised Fuseli’s prestige and visibility as an artist.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0