Fans of Taylor Swift have recently been flocking to the Museum Wiesbaden in central Germany, desperate to catch a glimpse of Friedrich Heyser's Ophelia. The hugely influential pop star recently released the single The Fate of Ophelia, which features the painting of the eponymous Shakespearean tragic heroine in the accompanying video. The Heyser piece, which dates from around 1900, appears to have been the inspiration for Taylor’s own take on Ophelia, leading Swifties to head there in their droves.
Speaking to The Guardian last week, Susanne Hirschmann, a museum spokesperson, said: “It’s been a shock, to be honest. We have a colleague who has a friend who is a Swift fan and she noticed the video’s opening scene had a similarity [with the Heyser painting] and we thought, wow, what a coincidence, that’s exciting.”
“There were several hundred guests that asked to see our painting of Ophelia by Heyser, especially at the weekend,” she adds. Guided tours focused on Ophelia are planned. “At the moment, we have an event planned for 2 November; however, it is already fully booked.” A love story indeed.
