Fantastic Art – The Concept & Details

This creative genre explores fantasy, imagination, dreams, visions, and the other worldliness. Associated closely with Symbolism, Fantastic Art revolves around mythology, mysticism, folklore, and occultism. Its Contemporary form further expands into capturing space scenarios, alien mythology, and the other uncanny elements of the unknown world. The mystique elements of Fantastic Art may be unpalatable for a viewer who values creativity as a pleasant experience. Owing to its thematic orientations, this genre is also called Visionary, Grotesque, or Mannerist Art.

The History

Hieronymus Bosch (Netherlands, 1450-1516) is believed to be the first ‘Fantastic’ painter. He used ‘wondrous and strange fantasies’ often full of monsters and chimeras to depict moral and religious narratives in his paintings. Since then fantasy has been a key part of creative themes. Globally, artists have been portraying supernatural elements in their works. Later, the Surrealist Movement in Europe (1930) inspired Wisconsin painters to include humor and irony in their creations, thereby giving a new dimension to Fantastic Art. Chicago Imagism of America (1960) steered the game towards Surrealist Figurativism.

The Correlations

Fantastic Art has been integral to several major movements, such as Mannerism, Romanticism, Magic Realism, Symbolism, Surrealism, and other Expressionist styles. Contemporary artists continue to explore new dimensions to keep the style exciting and fresh as ever.

The Artists & the Artworks

• ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights,’ ‘Temptation of St. Anthony,’ & ‘The Seven Deadly Sins and The Last Four Things’ by Hieronymus

• ‘The Nightmare’ (1781) & ‘Silence’ (1801) by Henry Fuseli (England, 1741-1825)

• ‘Come Unto These Yellow Sands’ (1842) & ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke’ (1864) by Richard Dadd (England, 1817-86)

• ‘Artforms of Nature’ (1904) by Ernst Haeckel (German, 1834-1919)

• ‘The First Supper’ (1988), ‘The Crowning with Sexism’ (1994), ‘The Seven Deadly Sins of Modern Times’ (1993), & ‘The Seven Deadly Isms’ (1992) by Susan Dorothea White (Australia, 1941)

• ‘Two Bodyheads’ (2003) by Paul Rumsey (England, 1956)

• ‘Necronomicon’ (1977) by H. R. Giger (Swiss, 1940)

Conclusion

While the traditional Fantastic Art depicts the inner life of souls and spirits through paintings & illustrations, its ‘Contemporary’ version (especially since 1970) diversified into photography, cartoons, animated films, plays, science fiction, and literature. A plethora of unexplored works exists that were created using the techniques, such as etching, engraving, and woodcutting to name some. Through its myriad forms, Fantastic Art has permeated cultures across the world creating a network of ‘grotesque.’

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited.

10 ARTS by ERIC RIPERT

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