Taylor Swift Fans Flock to German Museum After Ophelia Painting Featured in Hit Music Video

A museum in central Germany is suddenly the hottest tourist spot for Taylor Swift fans, all thanks to a painting that bears a striking resemblance to a scene from the singer's latest hit music video, The Fate of Ophelia.

The Hessische Landesmuseum in Wiesbaden has seen an unexpected spike in visitors—hundreds more than usual—after fans recognised an Art Nouveau painting of Shakespeare’s tragic character Ophelia in Swift’s new music video, which opens with a visual nearly identical to the painting. In the video, Swift appears submerged in water, embodying Ophelia, and effectively bringing the artwork to life.

The piece in question, painted by Friedrich Heyser around 1900, shows a woman in a white dress lying in water, surrounded by white water lilies. Though not as famous as the Millais version of Ophelia, it captures a similar haunting stillness that clearly resonated with Swift’s artistic team—and with fans.

“We’re really enjoying this attention – it’s a lot of fun,” said museum spokesperson Susanne Hirschmann. She added, “We are really astonished at the media is interested in this,” and noted that some fans have travelled from as far as Hamburg (a five-hour drive) to see the painting in person. A few American visitors stationed at a nearby military base even made the trip.

The resemblance was first spotted by the museum’s own staff, who posted about the connection online after noticing the similarities, and the announcement quickly went viral.

“We are surprised and delighted that Taylor Swift used this painting from the museum as inspiration for her video,” said museum director Andreas Henning. “This is, of course, a great opportunity to attract people to the museum who don’t know us yet.”

Despite the uncanny similarities, it hasn’t been officially confirmed whether the painting directly inspired Swift's visuals. The museum has reached out to Swift’s team but hasn’t heard back yet. Still, Henning added, “I would love to show Taylor Swift the original painting sometime.”

The song, which has topped charts in both the U.S. and Germany, comes from Swift’s latest album The Life of a Showgirl, which has shattered sales records around the world. With over four million album units sold in the U.S. in its opening week, it even broke the record previously held by Adele's 25. In the UK, it marked her biggest opening week of 2025, with 304,000 copies sold.

The album also ties into Swift’s growing multimedia presence. She recently announced a six-part Disney+ docuseries The End of an Era, chronicling her record-smashing Eras Tour, along with a new concert film The Final Show. In a behind-the-scenes teaser, she says: “We have broken every single record you can break with this tour. The only thing left is to close the book.”

Whether or not Swift ever makes it to Wiesbaden, her fans are already turning the Hessische Landesmuseum into an unlikely cultural pilgrimage. As Hirschmann put it, “It’s a really great opportunity to bring people to the museum who don't know us yet, and also just to talk about the art.”