No sooner had Fuseli formed the resolution of devoting his talents to
painting, in 1770, than he determined to visit Rome. He resided in Italy
eight years, and studied with great assiduity the pictures in the
numerous galleries, particularly the productions of Michael Angelo,
whose fine and bold imagination, and the lofty grandeur of his works,
were most congenial to his taste. It was a story which he loved to tell
in after life, how he lay on his back day after day, and week after
week, with upturned and wondering eyes, musing on the splendid ceiling
of the Sistine chapel--on the unattainable grandeur of the great
Florentine. During his residence abroad, he made notes and criticisms on
everything he met with that was excellent, much of which he subsequently
embodied in his lectures before the Royal Academy. His talents,
acquirements, and his great conversational powers made his society
courted; and he formed some valuable acquaintances at Rome,
particularly among the English nobility and gentry, who flocked there
for amusement, and who heralded his fame at home. He also sent some of
his choice drawings, illustrating Shakspeare and Milton, to the annual
exhibitions of the Royal Academy. In 1778, he left Italy and returned to
England, passing through Switzerland and his native city.