Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
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Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#2The page is from 2008 - unfortunately a lot of links to the original pictures do not work anymore.
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#3How many of these artists had seen an elephant in real life. How many were drawing it from descriptions (e.g. fan like ears. ribbed long arm like nose, large feet could describe some early drawings)
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#4Some of these are pretty wild. Makes me wonder if similar mischaracterized/illustrated of animal depictions were the source for the belief in dragons and other monsters
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#5I'm curious on the approach taken. Are the arrows based on known derivation/influences, or based on perceived similarity? It's a master's thesis.
This here:
https://www.uliwestphal.de/elephas-anthropogenus/soloelephan...
Does not seem to be an elephant to me. Maybe a vomiting deer, or with a bad case of worms of serpentitis. (:
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#6Really a cool project. Thinking about how to describe and elephant: like a giant ox but with big ears a long protruding nose and tusks (not not for female Asian elephants). Can easily see how that game of telephone would go sideways.
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#7Some of these are pretty wild. Makes me wonder if similar mischaracterized/illustrated of animal depictions were the source for the belief in dragons and other monsters
I’ve heard that the idea of dragons sleeping in caves arose because cave bears lived in well, caves throughout Europe and it’s quite possible their skeletons would be mistaken for a dragons.
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#8Some of these are pretty wild. Makes me wonder if similar mischaracterized/illustrated of animal depictions were the source for the belief in dragons and other monsters
This one is my personal favourite: https://www.uliwestphal.de/elephas-anthropogenus/soloelephan...
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#9Some of these are pretty wild. Makes me wonder if similar mischaracterized/illustrated of animal depictions were the source for the belief in dragons and other monsters
I’ve heard that the idea of dragons sleeping in caves arose because cave bears lived in well, caves throughout Europe and it’s quite possible their skeletons would be mistaken for a dragons.
Dinosaur bones!
Re: Evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages
#10This one looks like a dragon: https://www.uliwestphal.de/elephas-anthropogenus/soloelephan...
