Obligatory negative HN comment: it's Lorenzo Lotto, not Lorenzo Lorro. This mistake is repeated 4 times in the article!
Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
11–20 of 36 posts
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#12Once you see it you can't unsee it, apparently. One wonders what other bizarre cultural subtexts we're missing in other historical art periods.
Snails, for one: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-were-medieval-... And some others, if you'll excuse the listicle: https://listverse.com/2017/11/29/10-weird-trends-that-keep-s...
I've heard it said that the monks who wrote these manuscripts and inscribed their snail battles, did so as a means of presenting their piety.
In order to understand this one must realise that a monk had very few real enemies in the world - they were above these worldly pursuits. But, monks still had to eat, and tend their gardens in order to do so - and what likes monks gardens more than the monk does?
Why, snails of course.
So when monks were not bent over, copying ancient secrets for future generations to pore over, they were to be found in their gardens, eradicating their mortal enemy the snail, lest the monk be forced to starve to death. To a monk in a tower, engaged in little other than intellectual pursuits, the mightiest foes indeed were the little creatures who could starve the inhabitants of the mightiest holy towers.
So, that's why there are so many snails in the footnotes and margins of history. Because they were the mightiest foe for such humble folk to imagine...
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#13Once you see it you can't unsee it, apparently. One wonders what other bizarre cultural subtexts we're missing in other historical art periods.
Michaelangelo's "creation of Adam" depicts God as a human brain. Apparently nobody noticed untill the 90s. It's hard not to see it when you see it. A lot of fun interesting possibilities for deep metaphor.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA4SF_GUkAAiJ5S.jpg?format=jpg&n...
PS: reason for the downvotes? just curious.
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Snails, for one: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-were-medieval-... And some others, if you'll excuse the listicle: https://listverse.com/2017/11/29/10-weird-trends-that-keep-s...
I've heard it said that the monks who wrote these manuscripts and inscribed their snail battles, did so as a means of presenting their piety. In order to understand this one must realise that a monk had very few real enemies in the world - they were above these worldly pursuits. But, monks still had to eat, and tend their gardens in order to do so - and what likes monks gardens more than the monk does? Why, snails of…
That's very poetically written but I think you might be neglecting the fact that one of the monk's primary duties was (and still is) to lead a life of prayer, and in their worldview this is very much an ongoing spiritual battle against Satan and all his demons who are continuously attempting to overthrow the kingdom of God, mostly by tempting the people of the surrounding lands into sin or by allowing their opponents to prevail. Snails are a real threat too, but by no means the only enemy in the mind of an actual practising monk.
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've heard it said that the monks who wrote these manuscripts and inscribed their snail battles, did so as a means of presenting their piety. In order to understand this one must realise that a monk had very few real enemies in the world - they were above these worldly pursuits. But, monks still had to eat, and tend their gardens in order to do so - and what likes monks gardens more than the monk does? Why, snails of…
That's very poetically written but I think you might be neglecting the fact that one of the monk's primary duties was (and still is) to lead a life of prayer, and in their worldview this is very much an ongoing spiritual battle against Satan and all his demons who are continuously attempting to overthrow the kingdom of God, mostly by tempting the people of the surrounding lands into sin or by allowing their opponents…
> an ongoing spiritual battle against Satan and all his demons who are continuously attempting to overthrow the kingdom of God, mostly by tempting the people of the surrounding lands into sin or by allowing their opponents to prevail
Sure, but that's all make-believe; snails are real.
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#16Once you see it you can't unsee it, apparently. One wonders what other bizarre cultural subtexts we're missing in other historical art periods.
Michaelangelo's "creation of Adam" depicts God as a human brain. Apparently nobody noticed untill the 90s. It's hard not to see it when you see it. A lot of fun interesting possibilities for deep metaphor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA4SF_GUkAAiJ5S.jpg?format=jpg&n... PS: reason for the downvotes? just curious.
Never noticed that, thank you for pointing it out. There is a lot of evidence for Michaelangelo dissecting corpses with the tacit approval of the church, it made his art stand out substantially because of his knowledge of the muscles and bones underlying the skin and the fabric.
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#17Once you see it you can't unsee it, apparently. One wonders what other bizarre cultural subtexts we're missing in other historical art periods.
Michaelangelo's "creation of Adam" depicts God as a human brain. Apparently nobody noticed untill the 90s. It's hard not to see it when you see it. A lot of fun interesting possibilities for deep metaphor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA4SF_GUkAAiJ5S.jpg?format=jpg&n... PS: reason for the downvotes? just curious.
I share your curiosity: Who on earth would downvote this?
Quirky, interesting new titbit for our collection of trivia and learned matter, thank you.
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#18When I was a kid, the Leonardo painting was called "Lady with a Weasel". Now they claim it is "Lady with an Ermine". Most probably, though, it is "Lady with a Polecat-Ferret Hybrid".
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's very poetically written but I think you might be neglecting the fact that one of the monk's primary duties was (and still is) to lead a life of prayer, and in their worldview this is very much an ongoing spiritual battle against Satan and all his demons who are continuously attempting to overthrow the kingdom of God, mostly by tempting the people of the surrounding lands into sin or by allowing their opponents…
> an ongoing spiritual battle against Satan and all his demons who are continuously attempting to overthrow the kingdom of God, mostly by tempting the people of the surrounding lands into sin or by allowing their opponents to prevail Sure, but that's all make-believe; snails are real .
Depending on your religion, they might be equally real. The threat posed by snails might be more immediate, though.
Re: Sexy weasels in Renaissance art
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Michaelangelo's "creation of Adam" depicts God as a human brain. Apparently nobody noticed untill the 90s. It's hard not to see it when you see it. A lot of fun interesting possibilities for deep metaphor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA4SF_GUkAAiJ5S.jpg?format=jpg&n... PS: reason for the downvotes? just curious.
I share your curiosity: Who on earth would downvote this? Quirky, interesting new titbit for our collection of trivia and learned matter, thank you.
HN is a strange place