What does the word grotesque mean? What is grotesque

GROTESK - (from fr.- whimsical, intricate; funny, comic, from Italian. - grotto) - an image 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 (“The Nose”, “Notes of a Madman”), M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin ("The History of a City", " Wild landowner" and other fairy tales), F. M. Dostoevsky ("The Double. The Adventures of Mr. Golyadkin"), F. Sologub ("The Little Demon"), M.A. Bulgakov (" Fatal eggs", "dog's heart"), A. Bely ("Petersburg", "Masks"), V.V. Mayakovsky ("Mystery-bouffe", "Bedbug", "Bathhouse", "Sessed"), A.T. Tvardovsky ("Terkin on the next world"), A.A. Voznesensky ("Oza"), E.L. Schwartz ("Dragon", "The Naked King").

Along with the satirical, the grotesque can be humorous, when, with the help of a fantastic beginning and in the fantastic forms of appearance and behavior of the 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 the spiritual determination of personality.

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 - the depiction of people, objects, details in the visual 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's Gulliver's Travels. In Russian literature, the grotesque was widely used to create bright and unusual artistic images by N.V. Gogol (Nose, Notes of a Madman), M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (The History of a City, The 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, Masks), 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).

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 upon a time, an emperor with incredible imagination and artistic taste wanted the walls of his palace to be decorated with views and images that did 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 him.

Plays, decor and costumes are created based on this whimsical style. He fights the ordinary 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 they 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 the 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 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, there is a 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. Rejection takes to heart public values and stereotypes;
Socratic irony. The subject of discussion itself must come to hidden meaning utterances, reflecting on all the information said by the subject.

, Lucian, F. Rabelais, L. Stern, E. T. A. Hoffman, N. V. Gogol, M. Twain, F. Kafka, M. A. Bulgakov, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin).

"Mother Nature" surrounded grotesques on a fresco in Villa d'Este.

Using the word in conversation grotesque usually means strange, fantastic, eccentric or ugly, and thus is often used to describe strange or distorted forms, such as masks at Halloween or gargoyles at cathedrals. By the way, regarding visible grotesque forms in Gothic buildings, when not used as drainpipes, they should be called grotesques or chimeras, not gargoyles.

Etymology

Word grotesque came into Russian from French. Primary meaning of French grotesque- literally grotto, pertaining to the grotto or grottoed, from grott - grotto(i.e. small cave or depression), goes back to Latin crypto - hidden, underground, dungeon. The expression originated with the discovery of ancient Roman decorations in caves and burial plots in the 15th century. These "caves" were actually the rooms and corridors of Nero's Golden House, an unfinished palace complex founded by Nero after a great fire in 64 AD. e.

In architecture

Notes

Music

Grotesque is one of the songs by the fictional death metal band Detroit Metal City.

Literature

Sheinberg Esti Irony, satire, parody and the grotesque in the music of Shostakovich (in English)).. - UK: Ashgate. - P. 378. - ISBN ISBN 0-7546-0226-5
Kayser, Wolfgang (1957) The grotesque in Art and Literature, New York, Columbia University Press
Lee Byron Jennings (1963) The ludicrous demon: aspects of the grotesque in German post-Romantic prose, Berkeley, University of California Press
Bakhtin Mikhail Rabelais and his world. - Bloomington

The image is found in the songs of the group Klimbatika: Indiana University Press, 1941.

Selected bibliography by Philip Thomson, The Grotesque, Methuen Critical Idiom Series, 1972.
Dacos, N. La découverte de la Domus Aurea et la formation des grotesques à la Renaissance(London) 1969.

Cort Pamela Comic Grotesque: Wit And Mockery In German Art, 1870-1940. - PRESTEL. - P. 208. - ISBN ISBN 9783791331959
FS Connelly "Modern art and the grotesque" 2003 assets.cambridge.org
Video tour of the most vivid examples of medieval Parisian stone carving - the grotesques of Notre Dame

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Synonyms:

See what “Grotesque” is in other dictionaries:

ORIGIN OF THE TERM. The term G. is borrowed from painting. This was the name of an ancient wall painting that was found in the “grotto” cellars of Titus. Raphael used it as a model for decorating Vatican boxes, and his students for painting... ... Literary encyclopedia

grotesque- a, m. grotesque, German. Grotesk etc. grotesca. 1. claim An image characterized by a bizarre, fantastic combination of motifs and details. Sl. 18. A painting, a picturesque thing made of many colors and thin figures. LV 1 2 63. The decoration of the rooms is... ... Historical Dictionary Gallicisms of the Russian language

- (French grotesque, from Italian grotta cave). 1) originally meant the wall paintings of the Romans, which consisted of a fantastic combination of people, animals, plants, buildings, etc.; Similar paintings were found in buried buildings of antiquity, under arches... Dictionary foreign words Russian language

Grotesque- GROTESQUE (Italian grottesca) in its basic sense means arabesques like those that were found in ancient buried buildings. Usually this word is used to denote a funny, strange or exceptional phenomenon... Dictionary literary terms

- (French grotesque, Italian grottesco whimsical, from grotta grotto), 1) a type of ornament that includes figurative and decorative motifs in bizarre, fantastic combinations (plant and animal forms, human figures, masks, ... ... Art encyclopedia

Cartoon, caricature, parody Dictionary of Russian synonyms. grotesque see caricature Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova. 2011… Synonym dictionary

- (French grotesque lit. whimsical; comical), 1) an ornament in which decorative and pictorial motifs (plants, animals, human forms, masks) are bizarrely, fantastically combined. 2) A type of artistic imagery that generalizes and ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

GROTESK, grotesque, husband. (Italian: grottesco). 1. A work of art executed in a bizarrely fantastic, ugly comic style (original; original name for wall paintings in Roman grottoes). 2. in meaning unism. adj. Same as grotesque... ... Dictionary Ushakova

- (French grotesque, literally whimsical; comical), 1) an ornament in which decorative and figurative motifs (plants, animals, human forms, masks) are whimsically, fantastically combined. 2) Type of artistic imagery,... ... Modern encyclopedia

GROTESQUE

- (from Italian grottesco - bizarre) - a type of comic: an image of people, objects or phenomena in a fantastically exaggerated, ugly-comic form that violates the boundaries of plausibility. G. is based on the combination of the real and the unreal, the terrible and the funny, the tragic and the comic, the ugly and the beautiful. G. is close to farce. It differs from other types of comic (humor, irony, satire, etc. (see irony, satire)) in that the funny in it is not separated from the terrible, which allows the author in a specific picture to show the contradictions of life and create a sharply satirical image. Examples of works in which G. is widely used to create a satirical image are “The Nose” by N.V. Gogol, “The History of a City”, “How One Man Fed Two Generals” by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, “The Seated”, “Bathhouse”, “Bedbug” by V. Mayakovsky.

Dictionary of literary terms. 2012