A 200-year-old museum in Germany has found itself at the centre of Taylor Swift mania after fans discovered that a painting in its collection likely inspired the pop star’s new music video. Museum Wiesbaden in the western city of Wiesbaden is experiencing a surge in visitors eager to see Friedrich Heyser’s portrayal of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, which appears to have been the model for the opening scene of Swift’s song ‘The Fate of Ophelia’.
‘We are having an absolute Ophelia run at the moment and are quite surprised and happy about it,’ said museum spokesperson Susanne Hirschmann. ‘It’s been a shock, to be honest. A colleague’s friend, a Swift fan, noticed the similarity, and we thought, wow, what a coincidence.’ The music video, released earlier this month, was watched more than 27 million times on YouTube in its first three days.
Hirschmann estimated that around 500 people visited last weekend specifically to see the painting, which shows Ophelia with rosebud lips slightly parted, her lifeless body surrounded by water lilies. Many visitors, particularly young women and girls, have been posing for photos in front of the artwork. ‘It’s a lot more teens than we usually see,’ she noted.
The museum, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, was caught off guard by the attention. ‘We have a wonderful art nouveau collection, but this is the first time we’ve really had a run on a painting,’ Hirschmann said. ‘Thanks to Taylor Swift, it’s entered a whole new dimension.’ She praised the fans for their respectful behaviour, adding, ‘It’s really lovely that suddenly everybody is talking about art too.’
Staff are now speculating whether Swift might have visited the museum incognito during her Eras tour stops in Germany in July 2024. ‘That would be truly insane!’ Hirschmann said. ‘I think if Taylor Swift came here, even incognito, we would have noticed.’ Seizing the opportunity, the museum has organised an Ophelia reception on 2 November, including a guided tour exploring the painting’s history, Shakespeare’s character, and its depiction in Swift’s song.
