Describe the characteristics of the In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in The Nightmare's Legacy.
Fuseli's Nightmare reverberated with twentieth-century psychological theorists. In 1926, American writer Max Eastman paid a visit to Sigmund Freud and claimed to have seen a print of The Nightmare displayed next to Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson in Freud's Vienna apartment. Psychoanalyst and Freud biographer Ernest Jones chose another version of Fuseli's painting as the frontispiece of his book On the Nightmare (1931); however, neither Freud nor Jones mentioned these paintings in their writings about dreams. Carl Jung included The Nightmare and other Fuseli works in his Man and His Symbols (1964).Tate Britain held an exhibition titled Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli, Blake and the Romantic Imagination between 15 February and 1 May 2006, with the Nightmare as the central exhibit. The catalogue indicated the painting's influence on films such as the original Frankenstein (1931) and The Marquise of O (1976). Among modern artists, Balthus incorporated elements of The Nightmare in his work (e.g., The Room (1952–54).The 2015 documentary The Nightmare may be a reference to the painting as it documents sleep paralysis sufferers (who often hallucinate creatures sitting on their chest). 
Famous drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova released an EP titled Vampire Fitness in November 2020. The EP cover art is a direct reference to The Nightmare, with Katya portraying both the woman and the demon over her body. She even included a horse statue in one corner of the room. It serves as a modern reinterpretation of the painting, with the woman appearing completely nude, except for a pair of sunglasses. 
In February 2021, Amaia Salazar, a postdoctoral researcher and visual artist, conducts intense research on the pictorial representation of sleep paralysis throughout the history of art (18th - 21st century), analysing and discovering similar prototypes and archetypes of artistic representation, inspired by Fuseli's artwork. 
In January 2023 Martin Rowson produced a cartoon, "after Fuseli (and everyone else)", for The Guardian to comment on the ethical problems of the UK government, with a Conservative Party majority. The cartoon features Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, and Nadhim Zahawi plus a horse with a hot water bottle.
Man and His Symbols Nadhim Zahawi mare Conservative Party The Marquise of O Max Eastman The Nightmare Martin Rowson Rembrandt's frontispiece Sigmund Freud EP Balthus Tate Britain Ernest Jones drag queen Rishi Sunak Carl Jung UK government Vampire Fitness The Anatomy Lesson Katya Zamolodchikova Frankenstein The Guardian Nightmare Vienna sleep paralysis Boris Johnson