Open AccessThe Hybrid Character - between the Representations of the Middle Ages and Today’s Art
Author(s) -
Cezarina Florina Caloian
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
anastasis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2392-9472
pISSN - 2392-862X
DOI - 10.35218/armca.2020.1.07
Subject(s) - character (mathematics) , vision , civilization , the imaginary , creatures , portrait , literature , fantasy , politics , art , middle ages , history , philosophy , art history , natural (archaeology) , ancient history , psychoanalysis , law , psychology , geometry , mathematics , theology , archaeology , political science
This paper is a study of the fantastic character throughout thehistory of human civilization. This type of character has evolved from thehybrid creatures playing a divine role in the art of Assyro-Babyloniancivilizations and of Ancient Egypt, to the monstrous characters of the MiddleAges which served as substitutes for sin and the force of evil, visible in theentrelacs of illuminated manuscripts or the gargoyles guarding the walls ofGothic cathedrals, to the characters of non-human origin in children’s bookillustrations, and up to the characters found in fantasy films or today’s hybrids,who are in a perfect relationship with technological and cultural evolution. Thepaper discusses some original visions and working methods, from the slightlyhumorous portraits signed by Arcimboldo, the hybridization of animalkingdoms, in a much more tragic register, in the works of Hieronymus Bosch orthe fantastic character used as a weapon of political and moral satire in theworks of Goya and Grandville, to the unexpected, occult and mysterious visionsof Ernst Fuchs’ creations or the imaginary universe populated by hybridbeings, of ‘extra-terrestrial origin, found in the works of HR Giger.