Those who are interested in art will be very interested to learn about such a genre as “grotesque”. This style is quite widespread in architecture, literature, and even music. Let's take a closer look at what the grotesque is.
Grotesque concept
The term "grotesque" is taken from painting. This was the name of the wall paintings found in the “grottoes” - the basements of Titus, during archaeological excavations. These excavations were carried out in Rome (XV-XVI centuries) on the site where the baths of Emperor Titus once were. In rooms covered with earth, known Italian artist Raphael and his students found an unusual painting, which was later called “grotesque” (from the Italian word grotta - “grotto”, “dungeon”). Subsequently, the term “grotesque” was extended to other types of art - music, literature. The very definition of “grotesque” sounds like a type of imagery that is based on a bizarre, contrasting combination of fantasy and reality, comic and tragic, beautiful and ugly. In art, the sphere of the grotesque includes multi-valued images that are created by the artist’s imagination; in them, life receives a rather contradictory refraction. Grotesque images do not allow their literal interpretation, retaining the features of mystery. There are other meanings of the term “grotesque”:
- Grotesque is a sight artistic imagery; ornament where figurative and decorative motifs(animals, plants, human forms, masks).
- Serif font (grotesque, sans serif, gothic type) is a sans-serif font.
Let's get back to history. Thus, Raphael used the “grotesque” style as a model for decorating the Vatican lodges, his students - for painting ceilings and walls of palaces. Famous Italian master Renaissance, Benvenuto Cellini, engraved grotesque on sword blades.
Grotesque in the mythology of the primitive and ancient world quite difficult to understand. Speaking from the point of view of modern aesthetics, numerous grotesque elements are obvious here. For example, works - an Egyptian fairy tale about a doomed prince, ancient motifs of harpies, sirens. But we can also say with confidence that the impression of the grotesque was not only not the task of the author of such works, but also their grotesqueness was perceived to a lesser extent by the listener.
What is grotesque in literature
In literature, the grotesque is comic device, combining the terrible and the funny, the sublime and the ugly, that is, it combines the incongruous. The comic grotesque differs from irony and humor in that in it the amusing and funny are inseparable from the sinister and terrible, hyperbole and illogic. What is a hyperbole? Grotesque, as mentioned above, is an exaggerated, contrasting combination of reality and fantasy, and hyperbole is a stylistic figure of deliberate exaggeration (for example, “I told you this a million times” or “we have enough food for a year”). Usually, images of the grotesque carry a tragic meaning. In the grotesque, behind the expressed external improbability and fantasticality, a deep artistic generalization is hidden. the most important phenomena life. Examples of literary grotesque include: N. V. Gogol’s story “The Nose”, “Little Tsakhes, nicknamed Zinnober” by E. T. A. Hoffman.
Grotesque in music
Now, a little about music: meter and rhythm. In the grotesque they must be present and felt, otherwise nothing will work. Here are some examples musical groups performing songs in this direction:
- Fifth studio album The Golden Age of Grotesque famous singer Marilyn Manson. In his work, the grotesque occupies an important place.
- Band Comatose Vigil (song - Suicide Grotesque).
- Fictional death metal band Detroit Metal City (song Grotesque).
What is grotesque: architecture
Often, grotesques are confused with gargoyles, but stone carvings in the grotesque style were not intended to drain water. This type the sculptures are also called chimeras. The term “gargoyle” referred to creepy carved figures that were specially created to drain rainwater from the walls of a building.
To summarize, I note that as an art direction, the grotesque is necessary. The grotesque fights everyday life and prohibitions. He makes ours inner world much richer and opens up new possibilities for creativity.
It's grotesque a type of conventional fantastic imagery that demonstratively violates the principles of verisimilitude, in which figurative plans and images that are incompatible in reality are combined in a bizarre and illogical manner artistic details. The ornaments were called grotesque, discovered at the end of the 15th century. Raphael during the excavations of the ancient Roman baths of Titus. A distinctive feature of these images is the free combination of pictorial elements: human forms turned into animals and plants, human figures grew from flower cups, plant shoots intertwined with chimeras and bizarre structures. These ornaments are mentioned in his book by B. Cellini (“The Life of Benvenuto Cellini,” 1558-65); I. V. Goethe writes about their features, calling them arabesques. The transfer of the term to the field of literature and the real flowering of this type of imagery occurs in the era of romanticism. F. Schlegel in his “Letter on the Novel” (1800) considers the grotesque as an expression of the spirit of the time, its only, along with “personal confessions,” romantic creation. To the grotesque, as to characteristic feature romantic literature, in contrast to the “dead form” - classical literature, is indicated in the “Preface to the drama “Cromwell” (1827) by V. Hugh, which became the manifesto of French romanticism. Charles Baudelaire addressed the problem of the grotesque in his article “On the nature of laughter and the comic in the plastic arts,” contrasting laughter as “simply comic” with grotesque as “absolutely comic.” The term grotesque became especially popular in the 20th century, initially in connection with innovative phenomena in theater arts(V.E. Meyerhold), subsequently in connection with the dissemination of ideas expressed in M.M. Bakhtin’s book about F. Rabelais (1965).
Grotesque could arise in those genres of literature where the implausibility of fiction was obvious to both the author and the reader (listener). These are the comic genres of antiquity (the comedies of Aristophanes, “The Golden Ass” (2nd century), Apuleius, humorous and satirical works Renaissance, tales of folklore. Since the 18th century, the grotesque has been built mainly on the violation of the accepted system of reproducing reality, with which fantasy comes into a kind of conflict (grotesque stories by N.V. Gogol, F.M. Dostoevsky, “The History of a City,” 1869-70, M.E. .Saltykov-Shchedrin). Grotesque can be humorous when, with the help of fiction, the discrepancy between what is present and what should be is emphasized, or when qualities that evoke an ironic attitude are literally embodied in the fantastic forms of the appearance and behavior of characters. However, it is in satire, mainly aimed at ridiculing social vices, where fantastic images appear in the most generalized form, that some of the meaningful possibilities of the grotesque, in particular, its allegorical nature, are more fully revealed. Grotesque can also be tragic - in works with tragic situations, when fate and spiritual confusion of the individual are placed at the center. This may be a depiction of the suppression of personality by the instincts of biological existence (The Metamorphosis, 1916, F. Kafka), the motive of a collision with a doll mistaken for a person (The Sandman).
The word grotesque comes from French grotesque, Italian grottesco, which means fancy from grotta - grotto.
Unusual styles in art attract the attention of the same unusual people. And also eccentric grotesquery attracts special people. But what is the essence of this genre and how is the grotesque reflected in literature? Let's figure it out. Grotesque is an ugly comic image of something or someone based on contrast and exaggeration. In everyday life, many perceive the grotesque as something ugly and eccentric. Nowadays, it is widely used in carnival images at various holidays.
A little history
The grotesque has quite ancient origins. Its roots go to ancient rome the time of Nero. Once an emperor with incredible imagination and artistic taste, wished that the walls of his palace would be decorated with views and images that do not exist in nature.
But fate was not too favorable and the palace was subsequently destroyed by Emperor Troyan. Time passed and soon, ruins and underground structures were accidentally discovered during the Renaissance.
The underground ruins found were called grottoes, which translates from Italian as grotto or dungeon. The painting that decorated these ruins later came to be called grotesque.
Literature
In an effort to immerse the reader in a world full of fantasy and incredible phenomena, the author uses many techniques and styles. One of them is the grotesque. It combines seemingly incompatible things - the terrible and the funny, the sublime and the disgusting.
Grotesque in Wikipedia means a combination of reality and fantasy, as a combination of truth and caricature, as a plexus of hyperbole and alogism. Grotesque from French fancy. In contrast to the same irony, in that in this style funny and humorous images that are both horrific and frightening. These are like two sides of the same coin.
In literature, grotesque and satire go hand in hand.. But it's not the same thing. Under the mask of improbability and fantasticness lies the artist’s unique generalized view of the world and important events in it.
Plays, decor and costumes are created based on this whimsical style. It fights routine and allows authors and artists to discover the unlimited possibilities of their talent. Style will help expand the internal boundaries of a person’s worldview.
Grotesque examples of using the style
- A striking example of its application is fairy tales. If you remember, the image of Koshchei the Immortal pops up. When created, this figure combined human nature, and unknown forces, mystical capabilities, making him practically invincible. In fairy tales, reality and fantasy are often intertwined, but still the boundaries remain obvious. Grotesque images at first glance appear as absurd, devoid of any meaning. The intensifier of this image is a combination of everyday phenomena.
- The story "The Nose" by Gogol is also considered a shining example use of style in the plot. The main character's nose acquires independent life and separates from the owner.
In painting
In the Middle Ages it was typical for folk culture, expressing an original way of thinking. The style reached the peak of its popularity during the Renaissance. He imbues the works of the great artists of the time with drama and contradiction.
Don't miss: artistic technique in literature and Russian language.
Satire
This is a manifestation of the comic style in art in its sharpest sense. With the help of irony, grotesque, and a bit of hyperbole, she reveals humiliating and terrible phenomena, giving her own poetic form. Many poets use this artistic style to ridicule certain phenomena.
A characteristic feature of satire will be a negative attitude towards the subject of ridicule.
Hyperbola
An element used by many authors and poets for exaggeration. An artistic figure helps to enhance the eloquence of thoughts. This technique can be successfully combined with other stylistic expressions . Exaggeration is combined with and comparison
, giving them an unusual color. Hyperbole can be found in different artistic styles, such as oratorical, romantic and many others to enhance sensory perception.
Irony
A technique that is used to contrast the hidden meaning with the explicit one. When using this artistic figure, one gets the feeling that the subject of irony is not what it really seems.
Forms of irony
- Straight. Used to belittle and enhance negative traits subject of discussion;
- Anti-irony. Used to show that an object is undervalued;
- Self-irony. One's own person is ridiculed;
- Ironic worldview. Taking social values and stereotypes to heart;
- Socratic irony. The subject of discussion itself must come to hidden meaning utterances, reflecting on all the information said by the subject.
What is Grotesque?
Grotesque- this is a bizarre mixture in the image of the real and the fantastic, the beautiful and the ugly, the tragic and the comic - for a more impressive expression of creative intent.
Grotesque - depiction of people, objects, details in fine arts, theater and literature in a fantastically exaggerated, ugly-comic form; a unique style in art and literature, which emphasizes the distortion of generally accepted norms and at the same time the compatibility of the real and the fantastic, the tragic and the comic, sarcasm and harmless gentle humor. The grotesque necessarily violates the boundaries of plausibility, gives the image a certain conventionality and takes the artistic image beyond the limits of the probable, deliberately deforming it. The grotesque style received its name in connection with the ornaments discovered at the end of the 15th century by Raphael and his students during excavations of ancient underground buildings and grottoes in Rome.
These images, strange in their bizarre unnaturalness, freely combined various pictorial elements: human forms turned into animals and plants, human figures grew from flower cups, plant shoots intertwined with unusual structures. Therefore, at first they began to call distorted images the ugliness of which was explained by the cramped area itself, which did not allow making a correct drawing. Subsequently, the grotesque style was based on a complex composition of unexpected contrasts and inconsistencies. The transfer of the term to the field of literature and the true flowering of this type of imagery occurs in the era of romanticism, although the appeal to the techniques of satirical grotesque occurs in Western literature much earlier. Eloquent examples of this are the books of F. Rabelais Gargantua and Pantagruel and J. Swift Gulliver's Travels. In Russian literature, the grotesque was widely used to create bright and unusual artistic images N.V. Gogol (Nose, Notes of a Madman), M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (History of a city, Wild landowner and other tales), F.M. Dostoevsky (The Double. The Adventures of Mr. Golyadkin), F. Sologub (The Little Demon), M.A. Bulgakov (Fatal eggs, Heart of a Dog), A. Bely (St. Petersburg, Maski), V.V. Mayakovsky (Mystery-bouffe, Bedbug, Bathhouse, Provost), A.T. Tvardovsky (Terkin in the next world), A.A. Voznesensky (Oza), E.L. Schwartz (Dragon, Naked King).
Along with the satirical, the grotesque can be humorous, when, with the help of a fantastic beginning and in fantastic forms of appearance and behavior of characters, qualities are embodied that evoke an ironic attitude from the reader, and also tragic (in works of tragic content, telling about the attempts and fate of spiritual definition personality.