Friedrich Heyser
German · 19th–20th century
German painter (1857–1921) associated with the Art Nouveau and Symbolist movements. His drowning-Ophelia canvas, held at Museum Wiesbaden, recasts Millais's composition in a later, more decorative idiom.
Connection to Taylor Swift
The opening shot of The Fate of Ophelia music video recreates Heyser's Ophelia as a tableau vivant; community viewers identified the specific painting and the hosts confirmed it.
Notable Works
- Ophelia (c.1900)
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
Ophelia (painting by Friedrich Heyser)
“Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia”
The music video opens by recreating Friedrich Heyser's Ophelia (c.1900, Museum Wiesbaden) as a living picture — a drowned woman afloat among water lilies. Its composition descends from Millais, but it is Heyser's version that the opening tableau stages, before the video moves through other Ophelias. Community viewers identified the specific painting, and the hosts confirmed the catch in the episode, noting the video layers several sources rather than one.