What subtext hide the strangest sculptures in the world: the two-faced statue of Mephistopheles and Margarita, the shadow of King Arthur and others

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

People of art will never cease to amaze and inspire us with their unique works. This is how they express their attitude to the world around them. Some of the exhibits have come down to us since ancient times and have not lost their originality at all, and some created by our contemporaries also captivate and delight to the core. Our publication presents some of the most amazing sculptures of our time and past centuries.

Two-faced statue of Mephistopheles and Margarita

The two-faced statue of Mephistopheles and Margaret is one of the most famous sculptures in the world. It was created in the 19th century by an unknown French sculptor from a single piece of the ancient Sycamore tree. This work of art is kept in the Salar Jang Museum in Hyderabad in India.

The height of the sculptural composition is 177.2 centimeters. It is known all over the world as the "Double Statue of Mephistopheles and Margarita". Its peculiarity is that a male image is carved on one side of it, and a female image on the other. These are two characters from Goethe's famous drama Faust.

A huge mirror is specially placed behind the two-faced statue so that the viewer can see two images at the same time. This makes it possible to appreciate the impeccable skill of an unknown author and understand the compositional design of his creation. It is also worth noting that the level of difficulty in such a composition has remained virtually unrivaled over the past two centuries.

If you stand directly face to face with Mephistopheles, you can contemplate only the male image - haughty and evil, frozen with a cynical smile on his face. But as soon as you step left or right, the angle of view changes, and the viewer sees in the reflection of the mirror - fragile and graceful Margarita, humbly bowing her head with a prayer book in one hand.

Both characters, carved out of wood, serve as antipodes to each other. While Mephistopheles, better known as the devil, is depicted as smug, with a bulging chest and a haughty expression on her face, Margarita appears before us timid and resigned to her fate. It is this contrast that bewitches the viewer.

As mentioned above, this composition completely echoes the philosophical drama of the German writer and thinker Johann Wolfgang Goethe "Faust", to which he devoted almost 60 years of his life (hatched the idea, varied the plot, rethought, rewrote, republished).

A few words about the plot of Goethe's tragedy

Goethe based his drama on the German legend of Faust, who made a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for knowledge and worldly pleasures. It was this story that inspired the prose writer to create a masterpiece of world literature.

Love that suddenly flared up between a simple girl and Faust led to a great tragedy. The young chaste girl could not even think of such an outcome. Unable to resist the passion that has arisen, she intoxicates her own mother with a satanic potion in order to escape from constant supervision and drown in the arms of her beloved.

But how could the unfortunate woman know that the sleeping pills that Mephistopheles slipped into her was actually poison? And in the morning the terrible news will sober up Margarita - her mother is dead. Soon the brother of the seduced girl will die at the hands of Faust in a duel for her sister's honor. And after that, the beloved runs, fleeing punishment for the crime. All the girl's hopes for a happy life collapsed overnight. On top of that, the poor thing learns what to expect from the child's vicious bond. But in a fit of insanity, Margarita will take the life of her newborn daughter, for which she will go to prison. The verdict is the death penalty.

Having learned about what happened, Faust asks for a date with his former lover. It is in his power, of course, not without the help of Mephistopheles, to pull the unfortunate out of the clutches of death. However, tormented by guilt, Margarita refuses such help. She no longer needs a life of sin. She sincerely repents and wants to be punished for the evil she has done.

The image of the heroine of the drama is very tragic and attractive at the same time. The insane power of love and passion turned an innocent creature into a harlot and a murderer. However, the purity of Margarita's soul, her repentance and firm decision to bear her cross to the end ensured her salvation. The Lord took pity on her: the saved soul of Margarita was sheltered by heaven …

Shadow of King Arthur

Legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are rightfully one of the most famous legends in the world that have stood the test of time. Arthur is the embodiment of the image of the valiant warrior king who lived, loved and died as the hero of a romantic tragedy. Therefore, the legends about him firmly entered the culture of Great Britain, they inspired many great creators of heroic literature and art, not only of past eras, but also of the present.

In 2016, a bronze sculpture of King Arthur with a height of 8 feet (2.5 meters) was installed on the rocks of Tintagel Island, which also houses the castle of the same name. It is a real historical site and the alleged birthplace of King Arthur. The castle was built in 1233, and its ruins can be seen to this day. It is located about 400 km from London. And not far from the castle there is a cave called Merlin's cave.

And since it is impossible to understand the history of Tintagel without understanding how ancient legends shaped it, the idea of creating a monument arose to bring the legendary history of this place to life.

The sculptural composition "Gallos", translated from Cornish - "strength", has become a vivid reflection of not only the legend of King Arthur, but also the history of Tintagel castle. Its creator is the Welsh sculptor Rubin Einon. It took the master more than six months to design, manufacture and cast the sculpture from hard bronze.

And it is unlikely that the organizers could find a more dramatic setting for this statue than the windswept ledge of a rocky promontory over the Atlantic Ocean. It is here, on an island where legends have mixed with history, that it is difficult to know what is “authentic” and what is not. And despite the fact that the image of the king is complemented by the legendary sword Excalibur, and a crown on his head, some official sources say that the monument "Gallos" is not so much a legend about Arthur as it has a historical connotation and indicates the real events taking place in this place …

However, be that as it may, the people call it - the shadow of King Arthur … It is this name that most reflects the idea of the sculptor.

Alice in the Wonderland

In Guildford Central Park in Great Britain there is a sculpture dedicated to L. Carroll's fairy tale "Alice Through the Looking Glass". An excellent mathematician and logician, writer and photographer - Lewis Carroll - wrote the novel "Alice Through the Looking Glass" on Christmas Day 1871, where the author describes the adventures of the girl Alice, who, passing through the mirror, finds herself in a completely amazing and paradoxical world. The novel instantly became popular, and its author glorified the city of Guildford.

Years later, in 1990, grateful residents erected a monument to the heroine of the novel - Alice, passing through the mirror. The author of the composition is the sculptor - Genna Argent. Her daughter Anna served as her model. The sculptural composition is installed on the territory of the ancient Guildford castle. It was in this city that Lewis Carroll himself lived and after his death was buried in the city cemetery.

"Torn" sculpture by Van Gogh, exciting the imagination

In the village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, on the French Riviera, there is an avant-garde ghost sculpture. Curiously, it does not have a permanent location. From time to time, she disappears from one place and appears in another. So, moving from one square to another, and from there - to a quiet street or to a platform with a panoramic view of the sea, it became the main attraction of the village - a monument to Van Gogh. Its author is Bruno Catalano, a renowned master who can translate incredible ideas into metal.

Van Gogh's figure lacks the central part of the body - the head and shoulders seem to float in the air. It is not immediately possible to understand what keeps them from falling; the viewer's imagination immediately tries to complete the missing part of the wearily wandering artist.

The sculptor put incredible fatigue from endless search into the appearance of Van Gogh. And the goal to which he aspires - slips away, carries with him, but never allows him to touch. The torn out part of the body is a symbol of the artist's inner emptiness, which he never managed to fill.

The sculptural composition deliberately moves along Saint-Paul-de-Vence. It invariably turns out to be located against the backdrop of the beautiful landscapes of the French Riviera, allowing the casual viewer to fill the painter's inner emptiness with the beauty that he has been striving for all his life.

Answering the question: "What keeps the sculpture from falling?" The whole secret lies in the suitcase. Thanks to him, all parts of the sculpture are bonded …

Continuing the theme of sculptural creativity, it should be noted that modern masters, like magicians, have learned to work miracles, combining the incompatible, replacing the pedestals with completely incomprehensible supports. This is what our publication is about: Jerzy Kedzer's Balancing Sculptures Challenging Gravity - A Mystery of Our Time.