June 11, 2003
The Fantastic in Art and Literature
My thanks to Iconomy for pointing me towards this fine site hosted by the Cornell University Library, which compiles and indexes nearly three-hundred images on the theme of the fantastic in art and literature.
I had encountered several of the images before: Gesner’s merman seemed familiar; and I’d certainly seen Piranesi’s Carceri d'Invenzione; the woodcuts illustrating Sebastian Brandt’s Narrenschiff (‘Ship of Fools’); and an engraving of Félicien Rops’, in various places elsewhere.
I was drawn, again, to the dragons on show, such as the one above, from an opus of Aldrovandi’s, and also those drawn from I work I’d never heard of: Johannes Ionstonus’ 1755 Historiĉ Natura.
Demonic entities of various kinds are also well-represented at the site, with this wee devil catching my eye in particular: just what is he planning to do with that spoon?
Also new to my eyes was this striking Tower of Babel, dating from 1732, but which could almost have come from the 1930’s, and which makes a welcome addition in my mental gallery to the more famous representations of the same theme.
Posted by misteraitch at June 11, 2003 11:27 AM | TrackBack
That 1732 Tower of Babel is, indeed, striking. I wonder if the right-to-left angle of ascent of the staircase has any meaning? The "penthouse" strikes me as an ordinary building that would house a court of law or oversee the adminsitration of rules.
To me, the oddest thing about this representation, compared to the more famous ones, is the lack of people anywhere in sight.
Posted by: maria on June 11, 2003 06:51 PM