"Scorponok" from the Beast Wars/ Transformers series
Monster in my Pocket figure (taken almost directly from the stone tablet depiction)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Scorpion Men - Ancient Art
The most famous depiction of Scorpion men comes from this tablet from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Images above are the original tablet and a line art representation.
Scorpion Men [Introduction]
Scorpion Men are an Akkadian concoction/ hybrid, and appear in the Epic of Gilgamesh [the oldest recorded narrative] as guardians to Kurnugi, the land of darkness.
*I'm going to revisit greek mythology after covering Scorpion Men to get some more fine art back on the site....
Friday, February 11, 2011
Umibozu - Pop Culture
If anyone can help identify these, especially the first one (probably from a film?) let me know-
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Umibozu - Contemporary Art [Drawing/Painting]
Unidentified [awesome] painting
Unidentified Painting
Unidentified drawing [probably from a comic book]
Print by "The Stray" [available as a Tshirt, apparently]
by Satojiman
Mizuki Shigeru - Bronze
Matthew Meyer
Eriko - Silkscreen Print
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Umibozu - Fine Art [Drawing]
Kinda sad, the only 2 traditional representations of the Umibozu I could find after extensive Google Image searching (in both English and Japanese) are the two images linked from Wikipedia....
Utagawi Kuniyoshi - 19th Century Print
Image from an Obake Karuta card [Edo Period]
Monday, February 7, 2011
Umibozu [Introduction]
I'm gonna cross continents but keep with the sea-monsters theme. The Umibozu is a well-known Yokai (spirit) in Japanese mythology that is said to be a large, man-like figure with a bald/ buhhda type head [part of the etymology of "Umibozu" includes the word for priest] and serpentine arms. Sometimes it's said to be the spirit of a drowned priest. It drowns any ships/ sailors passing by. Apparently it does this by asking for something, like a barrel, which it then promptly uses to flood the ship with water. Or it just flips your ship over. The only way to dodge the thing is by giving it a botom-less barrel. I guess? Are Umibozus really that dumb?
Anyways, more info on Wikipedia, and images coming throughout the week.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Midgard Serpent - Fine Art [Sculpture]
Just one piece - a bronze sculpture by Wissler c.1900, which is a fountain in Sweden
Friday, February 4, 2011
Midgard Serpent - Modern Art
These are all cool, but the Alice Alex painting wins for me.
Mark Rosenthal - 1989
Ragnarok by "harrybuddhapalm"
Michael Heilemann - Horn of the Midgard Serpent
Alice Alex - Midgard Serpent
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Midgard Serpent - Fine Art [Ancient Art]
Date Unknown [possibly a resoration?]
"Altuna Runestone" - Sweden - c.1000AD
Midgard Serpent - Fine Art [Illuminated Manuscripts]
Thor and Hymir go fishing - from an Icelandic manuscript c. 1700
Midgard Serpent - unknown manuscript - unknown date
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Midgard Serpent - Fine Art [Drawing]
William Pogany - Children of Loki [Midgard Serpent with Fenrir and Hel] - 1920
Thor and the Giant Hymir fish for the Midgard Serpent [artist/ date unknown]
Heine - Scene from Ragnarok [Midgard Serpent and Fenrir] - 1882
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Midgard Serpent - Introduction [Norse Cosmology]
The Midgard Serpent, like the Cetus, is another leviathan, but on a titanic scale. In Norse Mythology, the Midgard Serpent - "Jörmungandr" - was a massive sea snake who swam in the outer sea. His body was so large that he encircled the earth, grasping his tail in his mouth.
The Norse have a multi-tiered structure of the universe, with the Earth (or Midgard) at the center. The world tree Yggdrasil (a common motif in ancient cosmologies, especially Indo-European myths) connects the different worlds like a giant pillar, from the home of the gods (Asgard) above to Nilfeim and other lands below (home of the Trolls, the dead, etc.)
When Jörmungandr releases his tail from his mouth, it will initiate Rägnarok (the end of the world).
More info on Wikipedia:
Monday, January 31, 2011
Cetus - Modern Art [Painting]
Painting by "Himmapan"
Christina Neofotustou (Perseus/ Andromeda role reversal)
Enrique Rivera
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Cetus in Fine Art [Painting]
The Burne-Jones and Carl VanLoo versions of the Perseus/ Andromeda myth get my vote-
Carl Van Loo - 1735
Edward Burne-Jones - 1888
Lemoyne - 1723
Maffei - 1658
Piero DiCosimo - 1515
Titian [or Vecellio?] - 1555
Friday, January 28, 2011
Cetus/ Ketos/ Κῆτος
Clash of the Titans also is famous for it's "Kraken." In the Perseus myth, this monster is actually referred to as Cetus [from the Greek "Ketos"] and was slain by Perseus in order to save his future wife, Andromeda.* Naturally, the myth is outlined on Wikipedia.
Below are the depictions of the Cetus/ Kraken from COT. Tomorrow I'll post some ancient art and fine art interpretations of the beast.
*[I'll post depictions of actual Krakens later - FTR, Krakens are usually depicted in art as giant Octopi and are more of a Norwegian/ Icelandic origin.]
"Kraken" [Cetus] - COT Remake - 2010
The "Kraken" [Cetus] - Clash of the Titans - 1981
Medusa in Pop Culture [Film/ Video Games]
Clash of the Titans (1981), which interpretated many aspects of the Perseus myth loosely, redefined the image of Medusa as much more monstrous (to having a serpent-like body along with the traditional snake hair). You can see Clash's influence on many modern pop-culture depictions of Medusa - including the video games (Castlevania, Monster Party, God of War) - below.
Perseus holding Medusa's Head - Clash of the Titans (1981)
Head of Medusa - Clash of the Titans - 1981
Medusa in her lair - Clash of the Titans - 1981
Medusa from the COT Remake - 2010
Super Castlevania [SNES] - Boss Battle
Monster Party [NES] - Boss Battle
God of War Concept Art [PS2]
God of War Concept Art [PS2]
God of War Concept Art [PS2] - *Possibly Stheno, one of the other 2 Gorgons
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