He became famous for his treatment of supernatural matters, which gave a special appeal to A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with plays like The Tempest, Hamlet and Macbeth.

[2] The painting depicts a moment from the first scene of the fourth act of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The potion has made her fall in love with the weaver Nick Bottom, who in turn is under a spell which has transformed his head into that of an ass.

A hooded woman to the right is holding a changeling made of wax, and to the left is a group of children artificially created by witches.

Two fairies plunging into calyces to the right are inspired by one of Sandro Botticelli's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy, "Canto XXX" from Paradiso.