10 Scary Paintings for Halloween Theme

In this article, we have described 10 scary paintings for you. We wish you a good reading.

Dante and Virgil, William-Adolphe Bouguereau 

A Dante left behind the world and ‘’La Divina Commedia’’ The world had William-Adolphe Bouguereau too, he exposed ‘’Dante et Virgile’’ Dante goes to hell under the guidance of Virgil in the book and they watch two souls in an eternal combat in this scene. We can see how disgusted Vergilius is by looking at the way he covers his mouth while Dante is holding him in fear. The painting is on display at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Saturn Devouring His Son, Francisco Goya

One of the 14 Black Paintings that Goya painted directly onto the walls of his house depicts the Greek myth of titan Cronus eating one of his children due to fear of being overthrown since he overthrowned his father. 

Here is another version of the painting depicting the same myth which was painted by Rubens.

The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli

Portraying a nightmare. Portraying a woman having that nightmare. Giving inspiration to plenty of literary works. Affecting Mary Shelley. It’s a very short list of what Fuseli did. The painting adorned with an extraordinary use of shadow depicts a deadalike woman, lying on her back, draped over the bed, her head hanging down. Fuseli, who was also a minister, dwelt on topics like sleep and dreams in general. However, this one is very unique since it doesn’t refer to religious or literary themes.

Here is a modern version painted by Cristóbal López.

Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of Innocent X, Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, known for his haunting paintings, focused on human form. He claimed that he wanted to show ‘’brutality of fact’’ Here is his masterpiece, Bacon’s version of Velazquez’s ‘’Portrait of Pope Innocent X’’ Bacon painted old masters’ popes. His palate became darker when his unhealthy relationship with Peter Lacy, who is a much older and dominating man, ends. This is also probably why Bacon began to focus on representations of father figures such as popes.

Deterioration of Mind Over Matter, Otto Rapp

Deterioration of Mind Over Matter, Otto Rapp

Otto Rapp, a member of Society for Art of Imagination. A brilliant painter of horror! This painting you see over there shows a human skull decomposing over a birdcage. It shews pure gore, mental pain and chaos shaping in mind. There are also two figures looking at the skull. 

‘’But see, amid the mimic rout

A crawling shape intrude!

A blood-red thing that writhes from out

The scenic solitude!

It writhes! – it writhes! – with mortal pangs

The mimes become its food,

And the angels sob at vermin fangs

In human gore imbued.’’

Witches at Their Incantations, Salvator Rosa

Witches at Their Incantations, Salvator Rosa

Salvator Rosa, who was a painter, poet, musician and printmaker, has been described as unorthodox and extravagant. He also had several enemies because of his criticisms of Roman art Culture. He wrote really harsh satirs. His paintings are dark, full of nightmares and bizarre creatures, totally blested. This painting centers on the swollen, broken neck of a hanged man on a boughs of a damaged tree. Plenty of women, some of them naked and stricken in years, pulling corpses from coffins, sacrificing babies, brewing…

Love and Pain or Vampire, Edvard Munch

Love and Pain or Vampire, Edvard Munch

Even though Munch says the painting doesn’t show anything but a woman kissing a man on the neck, a lot of people think that there is a vampire sucking blood from his neck. The woman’s pale skin and long red hair make her fit into a classical-vampire-look. Still, red-haired women aren’t unfamiliar for Munch’s paintings. He also painted six different versions of this subject.

Ivan the Terrible and His Son

Ivan the Terrible and His Son

The painting, which is Russia’s one of the most famous paintings, depicts Ivan cradling his son, who was mortally wounded, in a terrible grief. Common belief is that he was killed by his father. The father’s regret, torment and dread shown as well as the son’s expression of losing his consciousness and peace of the death.

Two Followers of Cadmus Devoured by a Dragon, Cornelis Van Haarlem

Two Followers of Cadmus Devoured by a Dragon, Cornelis Van Haarlem

One of the leading artists of Netherlands, Cornelis Van Haarlem was among the group of artists who founded a drawing school known as Harlem Academy. Ovid, who was one of three canonical poets of Latin Literature along with Virgil and Horace, wrote the ‘’Metamorphoses’’ and the scene comes from the story of Cadmus. He sent his followers to get water. However, the guardian of the well, son of Ares, killed them. We can see Cadmus coming to kill the Dragon in the background.

The Bewitched Man, Francisco Goya

The Bewitched Man, Francisco Goya

As a romantic painter and printmaker, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was one of the most important Spanish artists of the late 18th and 19th centuries. The painting also known as ‘’The Devil’s Lamp’’ It is one of the six paintings of witches and devils Goya painted for the Duke and Duchess of Osuna and depicts a scene from Antonio de Zamora’s ‘’The Man Bewitched by Force’’

Paintings of Goya

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