Page 6 - G19C Opening Catalogue

2 Hugues Merle

THE LEGEND OF THE WILLIS , 1847

Similar to the Sirens in Greek mythology, the Nordic legend of
the Willis depicts the power of the femme fatale to seduce and
eventually destroy any man crossing her path. Beautiful spirits,
who inhabited the forest from sunset until daybreak, these young
maidens known as the Willis, had been betrayed by their lovers
when they were alive. As punishment, their unsuspecting victims,
when discovered and seduced by their magic spell, were forced to
dance until they died from exhaustion. This is the scene represented
by the French Academic painter, Hugues Merle in his Salon
entry of 1848. Later in his career, Merle would focus on depicting
charming genre subjects of young women and children, works that
led him to become a commercially successful artist and a worthy
rival of William Bouguereau. Therefore, The Legend of the Willis, a
painting which is unique and different for the artist, is all the more
interesting as we consider his career as a whole. It is one of Merle’s
most evocative paintings. What at first appears as a tranquil scene
showing the evening sun disappearing over the horizon, instead
signals the nocturnal appearance of the beautiful Willis as they begin
their night long rampage of seduction and revenge. Some historians
have hypothesized that the phrase “to give me the willies” is based
on this legend.

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