Spooky Art: Spirit by George Roux

Spirit, 1885 George Roux

I love sharing spooky art with you all! A couple of weeks ago, I saw this image come up on my Facebook feed from at least 3 different sources, and of course, I had to find out more. 

This is an oil painting by the French artist, George Roux. Roux, who was born in 1853 and died in 1929 was an artist and book illustrator. Roux is best-known for his illustrations for Jules Verne’s science fiction works, but as seen in the painting above, also had a flair for the spooky and ethereal.

The painting in question is titled Spirit, and was completed in 1885. It depicts a man at work at his desk, interrupted by the ghostly sight and sound of transparent, glowing woman playing the piano. No definitive answer can be given as to who the woman is, or her relationship to the man, but he looks a tad startled! There’s also no definite answer as to what melody the ghostly lady is playing. 

Spirit was purchased by a private collector in 2009, but luckily, the image is available online for everyone to see and enjoy…and speculate over! So let me know in the comments below: Who do you think the ghostly woman is, and what song is she playing on the piano?