A depiction of mythical monsters and other horrors in art is currently on at Vienna’s Kunsthistorische Museum, entitled Schaurig schön – Ungeheuerliches in der Kunst (roughly translated as ‘Horribly Beautiful in Art’
The works are examples of very fine craftsmanship, exploring fascinating themes that make them doubly attractive.
They are witness to our intriguing fascination with creatures born out of fertile imagination, at a time when belief in such creatures was accepted without question.
The exhibition is divided into different sections, beginning with sphinxes: the Egyptian one close to Giza and the Greek one at Thebes. Myth, fantasy and reality go hand in hand.
There are sections devoted to griffins, centaurs, satyrs, gorgons, dragons, unicorns and the phoenix. Surprisingly, there are no harpies.
Those nurtured on Greek and Roman mythology are very familiar with these monsters. Belief in them was inherited by later generations, with some adaptations.
They are still present in many cultures and hold some sway with the younger generations – Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are evidence of that.
The stories of these beings underwent changes over the centuries. Even in antiquity, the male Egyptian sphinx metamorphosed into the female Theban sphinx. The satyr came to represent the devil in Christian minds, while the unicorn changed from a symbol of fertility to chastity.
Dragons changed from guardians to man-eating monsters, and one can see how the story of Perseus and Andromeda was transformed into the legend of St George.
The exhibits come from the museum’s own vast collection. There is a certain harmony when one sees ancient Greek vases, coins and cameos next to superbly crafted Renaissance armour, late medieval tapestries, ivory ware and medieval goldsmiths’ work.
Among the most eye-catching exhibits on display are Peter Paul Rubens’ Head of Medusa and Adriaen van der Werff’s Dragon Devouring Cadmus, a detail of which is on the front cover of the little guide to the exhibition.
There is a lovely 19th century neo-classic centaur and an ancient Persian rhyton in the shape of a griffin.
Small griffin heads dot the scabbard of a ceremonial sword presented by Pope Gregory XIII to the Archduke Fredinand of Tyrol, c.1580.
Beck’s St George and the Dragon (1513-14) is on display, as is a painting of St Margaret with a dragon representing the devil.
There is also an evil-looking drinking satyr by Andrea Briosco (Il Riccio), c.1515-20 displayed, and a very curious satyr known as The Devil in Glass from the first half of the 17th century. This satyr is black, very small and ingeniously ‘captured’ in a polished piece of rock crystal.
Centaurs feature in many works, including a powerful sculpture of Hercules slaying one of them.
A fine early 16th-century Flemish tapestry depicting the Triumph of Chastity features the unicorn; a creature in which belief lingered until the early 18th century. In fact, belief in the unicorn’s ‘horn’ is now thought to have been based on the extended external tooth of the narwhal, a marine mammal.
A beautiful early 19th-century Austrian crozier is made with sections of narwhal horn. The top part is studded with precious stones.
As for the phoenix, the most outstanding exhibit is a sculpture from c. 1610-20. Unless I was imagining things, the bird, a symbol of hope and regeneration, was bearing a pained expression.
The exhibition closes on May 1. Kunsthistorischemuseum is at 1010 Wien, Maria-Theresien-Platz.
www.khm.at