Taylor Swift's Ophelia MV Sparks Fan Pilgrimage to German Art Museum
The 200-year-old museum has welcomed nearly 500 new guests over the weekend, specifically asking where they can find Heyser's painting
By : Guest Post
Update: 2025-10-17 07:58 GMT
Less than a couple of weeks ago, Taylor Swift released a music video for 'The Fate of Ophelia', a fan favourite in her latest album 'The Life of a Showgirl'. The video opens in a foyer, zooming in on a painting where the star can be seen clad in a white, flowy gown, lying down in a pond amidst the water lilies. Fans quickly realised the image bore a striking resemblance to an Art Nouveau painting of Ophelia by German painter Friedrich Heyser, dating back to the 1900s.
Ever since, the Hessische Landesmuseum in Wiesbaden has been flooded with Swifties.
The 200-year-old museum has welcomed nearly 500 new guests over the weekend, specifically asking where they can find Heyser's painting. It has drawn many young women and girls to Wiebaden. One family even travelled all the way from Hamsburg (which is five hours away by road) to witness the artwork in person. Amongst other visitors were families of American soldiers stationed in the area.
Andreas Henning, the museum director, told German news agency DPA, "We are surprised and delighted that Taylor Swift used this painting from the museum as inspiration for her video."
"This is, of course, a great opportunity to attract people to the museum who don't know us yet."
"We are having an absolute Ophelia run at the moment and are quite surprised and happy about it," museum spokesperson Susanne Hirschmann told The Guardian.
"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 coincidence - that's exciting."
Initially, the management was afraid that a rush of fans would be disruptive to other patrons, but Hirschmann said that fans had "a respectful approach". While the museum has tried contacting the star's team, their attempts have been mostly unsuccessful.
It is unclear how Taylor happened upon the painting. "We did ask ourselves: how did this come about?" the spokesperson revealed. "Did she pick the painting out? Has she seen it for herself? Was it a member of her team? I think if Taylor Swift came here, even incognito, we would have noticed."
Director Henning said that he would love to show the star the original painting sometime.
In response to the surge of new guests, the museum has announced a special tour of Heyser's Ophelia on 2 November, explaining the painting's history, the noblewoman's character in Shakespeare's Hamlet, and her depiction in Taylor Swift's new hit song.
This article is authored by Tejasree Kallakrinda, interning with Deccan Chronicle