Horror logo

5 frightening and anxious paintings

Why do we romanticize macabre?

By KIMI KANGASPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
Like

Why do we hate to love tragedy? It could be a horror movie, true crime docuseries or a nightmarish painting. The other day I saw a disturbing documentary on Netflix. I knew it was unsettling but I kept binge-watching it anyway and felt disgusted afterward.

Why do we romanticize macabre?

There isn’t a single reason but a mnemonic per se. We want to S.C.R.E.A.M for Strength, Catharsis, Reality, Exploration, Acceptance and Meaning.

It is often seen in the art realm that famous artists had tried to quench their anxieties by portraying their monstrous, evil and dark aspects of life onto canvas. Be it, Vincent van Gogh, Francisco Goya or Edvard Munch.

So, dark art might scare us, make us anxious or even haunt us but we can’t get away from it.

Let’s dive into 5 macabre paintings by 5 famous artists and understand the psychology behind each one of them.

1. Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya

Saturn Devouring His Son

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung says, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son tops all lists of grim, gory, gruesome and ghastly paintings. Saturn, the demonic figure, with protruding eyes, is swallowing the body of his own child. His fear that he would one day be overthrown by one of his own children results in him eating them one by one upon their birth.

But what are we not familiar with is — that this mural was placed in the dining room of Goya’s villa along with other Black paintings.

The most disturbing image in Western art was found in his personal space directly painted on the wall. And on top of it, he left no notes and titles for these artworks. Why?

By 1819, Goya had gone through a lot. His solitude, physical illness, fear and hysteria gave rise to the creation of Black Paintings.

2. Dante and Virgil by William by Adolphe Bouguereau

Dante and Virgil

This is one of those ghastly images that you might want to ignore but you simply can’t. Yes, it's that powerful.

The image reveals Dante’s and Virgil’s journey to the eighth circle of hell. They stop to see brutal combat between two naked men.

The attacker, Gianni Schicchi, is a fraud who disguises himself as a dead man and savagely bites the neck of the victim and brutally kneels his back. The victim, Cappocchio, is a heretic and alchemist. This was the time when heresy and alchemy were sins and hell was the final destination.

The painter, Adolphe Bouguereau, has exceptionally captured the Dracula moment showcasing Schicchi’s strength, the fluidity of the men’s poses and the shocking expressions of Dante and Virgil. Virgil is feeling so pukish he puts a piece of his own garb cloth on his mouth.

3. Untitled by Zdzislaw Beksinski

Untitled by Zdzislaw Beksinski

I feel that the best way we can connect with a painting is by understanding the psychology behind the artwork.

Why was the artwork created? What instigated the artist to draw such a dark image?

Zdzislaw Beksinski was a Jewish artist who created paintings filled with elements of dystopia, doomsday and destruction of the world. He intentionally left his paintings untitled because he felt art was only to be admired without giving a name or interpretation to it.

In the Nazi era, Beksinski personally encountered antisemitism and the mass killings of thousands of Jews. It created a black hole in his psyche.

But this untitled image shows that even after experiencing the worst of humanity, he portrayed love and embrace between a skull couple in the facade of a catastrophic backdrop. Isn’t it frighteningly beautiful?

4. Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens

Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens

There are a plethora of creations around this subject. But Peter Paul Rubens’s creation kept me engaged for the longest time.

The Massacre of the Innocents depicts the ruthless portrayal of infanticide, which — according to the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew — was a real incident.

Whether a fact or legend, this painting showcases a disturbing ability to pull the viewer into the scene. In the New Testament, it was the Judean King Herod the Great, who ordered the mass killings of the male infants aged two years and under in Bethlehem.

King Herod was skeptical that he might have to give away his crown because of the birth of a male child or being mocked by The Magi — aka The Three Wise Men.

5. The Face of War by Salvador Dalí

The Face of War by Salvador Dalí

It is for the benefit of mankind to mitigate the horrors of war as much as possible.

War has brought no good and will bring no good to humankind. It only leads to loss, suffering and misery.

Dali’s The Face of War is a surrealist representation to condemn war. The snakes are an allegory to terrorists who kill innocent people. The eyes and the mouth are clogged with a group of skulls because that is what ultimately war leads to — dystopia.

art
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.