it's art day!! whatever that means!
Nov. 5th, 2010 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dahlia_moonSo I had to go to the art museum here (I say I *had* to but I would've gone even if I didn't have to) and was totally captivated by the new exhibit of John Herberle works (well - no actually just really liked two of his pieces called "Japanese Corner" and "Night" [obviously it goes without saying that viewing the images physically is so much better than viewing them on a computer]; the other pieces of his were OK but they didn't grab my attention like those two did).
Also while there I looked around the shop and brought 1001 Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Imagery and Its Meaning by Jack Tresidder which is OMG~!! so fascinating and explains a lot of things. Although there are a lot of protective symbols in art and chastity/fertility/marriage/love symbols, way more than I'd thought there would be.
Some excerpts:
LILY
In sacred art, female saints, and some male ones, are shown with a lily, in this context an emblem of both purity and chastity. It can also be seen in paintings of the Annuciation where it is either held by the archangel Gabriel or set in a vase beside the figure of Mary. She was the medieval "lily among the thorns."
FALLEN ANGEL
In Christian teaching, pride was personified by Satan because it was for this sin that God cast him down with other fallen angels who were his followers. This lesson could be used, as the prophet Isaiah used it, to criticize the arrogance of rulers.
TOWER OF BABEL
The stepped temples or ziggurats built by the Babylonians symbolized ascension towards God, an ambition regarded by the Hebrews as presumptuous. Hence the story in Genesis of God disrupting the heavenward progress of the Tower of Babel by causing its workforce to speak so many different languages that confusion reigned and the project failed. The story is usually taken as an allegory of human pride and arrogance.
UNICORN
The most poetic animal symbol of chastity is the unicorn, a fabulous hybrid with a spiral horn on its forehead which appears with a young woman in many medieval paintings and tapestries. According to legend, the unicorn could be captured only by a virgin - perhaps a reference back to the virgin huntresses of classical myth. With her, the beast would become meek and lay its horn in her lap. In other words, a pure woman could tame the horn of male desire. The image is one of both male and female chastity, the virtuous sweetness of unconsummated love.
In sacred art where the unicorn is seen with the Virgin Mary the image takes on a spiritual dimension, the creature's spiral horn symbolizing the penetration of her body by the Holy Spirit. The figure of Chastity is sometimes shown in art riding in a chariot pulled by unicorns.
Picture: The Lady and Unicorn Tapestry
TRIMURTI
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva symbolize a divine unity in Indian art, often shown as a three-headed figure called the Trimurti. This sacred triad does not imply a monotheistic being such as the Christian Trinity but is a condensed image of the cycles of creation, preservation and destruction in the material universe. Shiva alone can appear as a triad with this meaning. His triple powers are also represented by a trident, a symbol sometimes used as a forehead mark by his cult followers.
Picture: Shiva, 500-27 BCE
CRESCENT
The moon goddess Hecate was credited with protecting Byzantium in 341 BCE when a crescent moon suddenly broke through clouds above the city as hostile Macedonian forces were approaching it under cover of darkness. Defenders manned the walls and the attack was repelled. To commemorate Hecate, a crescent and star image was stamped on the city's coinage. This decorative device continued to be popular and was adopted centuries later by the Turks and many subsequent Islamic nations, with protective and other symbolic meanings.
I could go on and on but I need to post this already and start getting ready for class.
Also while there I looked around the shop and brought 1001 Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Imagery and Its Meaning by Jack Tresidder which is OMG~!! so fascinating and explains a lot of things. Although there are a lot of protective symbols in art and chastity/fertility/marriage/love symbols, way more than I'd thought there would be.
Some excerpts:
LILY
In sacred art, female saints, and some male ones, are shown with a lily, in this context an emblem of both purity and chastity. It can also be seen in paintings of the Annuciation where it is either held by the archangel Gabriel or set in a vase beside the figure of Mary. She was the medieval "lily among the thorns."
FALLEN ANGEL
In Christian teaching, pride was personified by Satan because it was for this sin that God cast him down with other fallen angels who were his followers. This lesson could be used, as the prophet Isaiah used it, to criticize the arrogance of rulers.
TOWER OF BABEL
The stepped temples or ziggurats built by the Babylonians symbolized ascension towards God, an ambition regarded by the Hebrews as presumptuous. Hence the story in Genesis of God disrupting the heavenward progress of the Tower of Babel by causing its workforce to speak so many different languages that confusion reigned and the project failed. The story is usually taken as an allegory of human pride and arrogance.
UNICORN
The most poetic animal symbol of chastity is the unicorn, a fabulous hybrid with a spiral horn on its forehead which appears with a young woman in many medieval paintings and tapestries. According to legend, the unicorn could be captured only by a virgin - perhaps a reference back to the virgin huntresses of classical myth. With her, the beast would become meek and lay its horn in her lap. In other words, a pure woman could tame the horn of male desire. The image is one of both male and female chastity, the virtuous sweetness of unconsummated love.
In sacred art where the unicorn is seen with the Virgin Mary the image takes on a spiritual dimension, the creature's spiral horn symbolizing the penetration of her body by the Holy Spirit. The figure of Chastity is sometimes shown in art riding in a chariot pulled by unicorns.
Picture: The Lady and Unicorn Tapestry
TRIMURTI
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva symbolize a divine unity in Indian art, often shown as a three-headed figure called the Trimurti. This sacred triad does not imply a monotheistic being such as the Christian Trinity but is a condensed image of the cycles of creation, preservation and destruction in the material universe. Shiva alone can appear as a triad with this meaning. His triple powers are also represented by a trident, a symbol sometimes used as a forehead mark by his cult followers.
Picture: Shiva, 500-27 BCE
CRESCENT
The moon goddess Hecate was credited with protecting Byzantium in 341 BCE when a crescent moon suddenly broke through clouds above the city as hostile Macedonian forces were approaching it under cover of darkness. Defenders manned the walls and the attack was repelled. To commemorate Hecate, a crescent and star image was stamped on the city's coinage. This decorative device continued to be popular and was adopted centuries later by the Turks and many subsequent Islamic nations, with protective and other symbolic meanings.
I could go on and on but I need to post this already and start getting ready for class.