The Dream of Queen Katherine 

Henry Fuseli made "The Dream of Queen Katherine" using oil paint, a traditional medium for its time. The material itself lends a richness and depth to the painting, evident in the contrasting light and shadow. The smooth, almost ethereal quality of Katherine's dress is achieved through layering and blending, techniques mastered by artists through years of practice. Notice the texture of the paint itself – thick in some areas to catch the light, and thin in others to create shadows. Fuseli, like many artists of his era, relied on apprentices and assistants to prepare his materials, grinding pigments and mixing oils. While the final artistic vision is his own, the artwork bears the mark of this collaborative labor. Such processes were deeply embedded in the social and economic structures of the time, with the art world relying on skilled, often anonymous, labor. Ultimately, the artwork asks us to think about both the vision of the artist, but also the collaborative processes that made it possible.