[Courtyard of castle, showing Conrad under the giant helmet] [art original].

A scene from Horace Walpole's Gothic novel The castle of Otranto, with the character Conrad seen lying under an enormous helmet at the left end of a large, open courtyard. The helmet, topped by large black feathers, obscures all of Conrad's body except for his legs. A crowd has gathered and several men attempt to lift the helmet off its victim. In the background the arched colonnades of the castle terminate in an arched gate on the right; a round tower rises at center above the colonnades. In the left foreground is a wall with an arched window above an arched door, an armorial shield mounted between them