BERLIN — BERLIN (AP) — A German museum has been unexpectedly seized. Taylor Swift fans because one of his paintings bears a striking resemblance to the opening scene of Swift's current hit video. “Ophelia's Fate”
Hundreds of extra visitors flocked to the Hessische Landesmuseum in central Germany over the weekend to admire the painting, with one family traveling from the northern city of Hamburg especially for the occasion, museum spokeswoman Susanne Hirschmann told German news agency dpa on Wednesday. It was not possible to get to the museum immediately.
Swifty's Target: Friedrich Heiser's Art Nouveau painting of Ophelia, Hamlet's lover from William Shakespeare's play of the same name.
In the original play, Ophelia, a young noblewoman from Denmark, eventually loses her mind and drowns.
Heizer's oil on canvas painting depicts the figure of Ophelia dressed in white and surrounded by white water lilies. The exact year the painting was created is unknown, but experts believe it dates back to around 1900.
In the first scene of the video for the hit “Ophelia's Destiny,” Swift plays the role of Ophelia and becomes a living picture.
The scene bears similarities to Heizer's work, museum director Andreas Henning told dpa.
“We are surprised and delighted that Taylor Swift used this painting from the museum as inspiration for her video,” Henning said. “This is, of course, a great opportunity to attract people to the museum who don’t know us yet.”
Despite the similarities, the Wiesbaden city museum said it did not know for sure whether the artwork served as a template for Swift's song, which is currently a number one hit in both Germany and the United States.
Henning said the museum has already tried to contact the singer, but has so far been unsuccessful.
“I would love to show Taylor Swift the original painting someday,” he added.
