Fotoreproductie van een prent naar een schilderij door Johann Heinrich Füssli, voorstellend een scene uit Een Midzomernachtdroom door William Shakespeare before 1864

Stephen Ayling created this photogravure, reproducing a print after a painting by Johann Heinrich Füssli, illustrating a scene from Shakespeare's *A Midsummer Night's Dream*. Shakespeare's play, written in the 1590s, became wildly popular in the late 18th century. Füssli, or Fuseli as he was known in England, painted several versions of this scene where Titania, Queen of the Fairies, dotes on the temporarily donkey-headed Bottom. This image reveals the fascination that Shakespeare held for the late 18th and early 19th centuries, an interest that continues to this day. The photogravure process used here allowed for mass production, making art more accessible to the public. To fully understand this work, we would need to delve into the history of Shakespearean reception, the rise of Romanticism, and the technological advancements in printmaking during the 19th century. Art is always deeply embedded within its specific time and place.