Franz von Stuck

German, 1863 - 1928

The Murderer

Date: 1891

Inspired by Böcklin's Murderer pursued by Furies, but with an even greater sense of excitement and drama, in 1891 Stuck painted his first version of the despair and remorse which pursue a criminal after his deed. The ancient Furies, the goddesses of vengeance, hide behind a rock as they lie in wait for the murderer who has just killed his victim. The sight of these ugly creatures is a foretaste of the torments awaiting the murderer. The figure of the murderer is derived from Klinger's etching 'Pursuit' in which a man in a similar pose runs away on a narrow path.

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