"We are having an absolute Ophelia run at the moment and are quite surprised and happy about it, a museum spokesperson, Susanne Hirschmann, said on Thursday. 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."
"Although the museum has been unsuccessful so far in its attempts to reach Swift's team, it did not take long for fans to make the connection themselves, as word spread on social media. Hirschmann estimated that 500 people visited last weekend specifically to see Heyser's Ophelia painting, having asked museum personnel where they could find it far eclipsing the usual amount of interest in the wispily romantic image showing Ophelia's rosebud lips slightly parted and her lifeless body surrounded by water lilies."
The opening scene of Taylor Swift's 'The Fate of Ophelia' video portrays the singer as Ophelia and resembles a circa-1900 painting by Friedrich Heyser in Museum Wiesbaden. The video received over 27 million YouTube views in its first three days, prompting fans to visit the museum to see the painting that appears to have inspired the clip. Museum staff estimated roughly 500 visitors specifically sought the Heyser work in one weekend, far exceeding normal interest. Many visitors are young women and girls who pose for photos before the painting. Museum personnel attempted to contact Swift's team but received no response. The museum, celebrating its 200th anniversary, said the surge was unexpected.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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