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The New Arcimboldo Archive

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montycrusto said:
I recognise a fellow seeker of the Sublime …. If only I could find it, as regularly as you do! :p
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Your comment prompted me to look for the the term Sublime (well, I am not sure if this is an adequate term to describe the esthetic quality of my pictures...) and I found some relating ideas by Edmund Burke, an Irish Philosopher of the 18th century:

wordsworth.org.uk

Edmund Burke and the Sublime - Wordsworth Grasmere

By Simon Court The idea of the sublime is central to a Romantic’s perception of, and heightened awareness in, the...
wordsworth.org.uk wordsworth.org.uk

Burke then turns to his observations on the sublime. He asserts that ideas of pain are much more powerful than those of pleasure, and that the strongest pain of all is the fear of death, which causes terror. As such:

"Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime; that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling."

The sublime, then, is our strongest passion, and it is grounded in terror. Yet it is not exclusively an unpleasant emotion, for danger or pain can, in certain circumstances, give us delight.
 
Arcimboldo said:
Your comment prompted me to look for the the term Sublime (well, I am not sure if this is an adequate term to describe the esthetic quality of my pictures...) and I found some relating ideas by Edmund Burke, an Irish Philosopher of the 18th century:

wordsworth.org.uk

Edmund Burke and the Sublime - Wordsworth Grasmere

By Simon Court The idea of the sublime is central to a Romantic’s perception of, and heightened awareness in, the...
wordsworth.org.uk wordsworth.org.uk

Burke then turns to his observations on the sublime. He asserts that ideas of pain are much more powerful than those of pleasure, and that the strongest pain of all is the fear of death, which causes terror. As such:

"Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime; that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling."

The sublime, then, is our strongest passion, and it is grounded in terror. Yet it is not exclusively an unpleasant emotion, for danger or pain can, in certain circumstances, give us delight.
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Absolutely nailed it. The Sublime is about going beyond normal human experience, it can be horrific but also beautiful.. ecstatic and agonising. Thus erotic art distinguishes itself from other art, because it focuses on the ecstasy of sex; within that niche there is “kink” erotica, exploring further into realms of painful pleasure and beautiful terror… and finally you reach the pinnacle: crux art, the most Sublime erotic art form (I would suggest); the ultimate in agony and also ecstasy.
 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Romilda of Friuli

Romilda or Ramhilde (died 611), was a Duchess consort of Friuli by marriage to Duke Gisulf II of Friuli. She served as regent of Friuli in 611, during the invasion of the Pannonian Avars.

Romilda was reportedly the daughter of Garibald I of Bavaria. She married Gisulf II of Friuli, and became the mother of the sons Tasso, Kakko, Radoald and Grimoald, and the daughters Appa and Geila (or Gaila), married to the King of the Alemanni (uncertain) and the Prince of the Bavarians, probably Garibald II of Bavaria.

In 611, the Duchy of Friuli was invaded by the Pannonian Avars under their king Cacan. Gisulf II died on the battle field, and the Avars besieged the main capital Friuli, which was defended by Romilda, who had taken command as regent. Romilda famously offered the Avarian king Cacan to surrender the city peacefully, if he accepted her peace offering by a marriage between them. Cacan accepted the offer, and the siege was lifted. However, when Romilda surrendered the city, Friuli was pillaged by Cacan, who broke his word. He reportedly spent one night with Romilda and raped her, after which he allowed her to be raped by his soldiers. After this, he is claimed to have had her executed by impalement. Her children managed to escape.

Romilda has been given a very bad reputation in history because Paul the Deacon, who in his chronicle from the following century claimed that she made the offer of marriage to Cacan out of personal attraction and betrayed her city out of sexual lust. However, to make peace through proposal of a marriage alliance was in fact a common and accepted political peace method of the time.

________________________________________________

I shifted the story of Romilda from the Early to the Late Middle Ages, with the clockwork already invented and any guttersnipe knowing the term clockwise...


clockwise.jpg
 
Arcimboldo said:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Romilda of Friuli

Romilda or Ramhilde (died 611), was a Duchess consort of Friuli by marriage to Duke Gisulf II of Friuli. She served as regent of Friuli in 611, during the invasion of the Pannonian Avars.

Romilda was reportedly the daughter of Garibald I of Bavaria. She married Gisulf II of Friuli, and became the mother of the sons Tasso, Kakko, Radoald and Grimoald, and the daughters Appa and Geila (or Gaila), married to the King of the Alemanni (uncertain) and the Prince of the Bavarians, probably Garibald II of Bavaria.

In 611, the Duchy of Friuli was invaded by the Pannonian Avars under their king Cacan. Gisulf II died on the battle field, and the Avars besieged the main capital Friuli, which was defended by Romilda, who had taken command as regent. Romilda famously offered the Avarian king Cacan to surrender the city peacefully, if he accepted her peace offering by a marriage between them. Cacan accepted the offer, and the siege was lifted. However, when Romilda surrendered the city, Friuli was pillaged by Cacan, who broke his word. He reportedly spent one night with Romilda and raped her, after which he allowed her to be raped by his soldiers. After this, he is claimed to have had her executed by impalement. Her children managed to escape.

Romilda has been given a very bad reputation in history because Paul the Deacon, who in his chronicle from the following century claimed that she made the offer of marriage to Cacan out of personal attraction and betrayed her city out of sexual lust. However, to make peace through proposal of a marriage alliance was in fact a common and accepted political peace method of the time.

________________________________________________

I shifted the story of Romilda from the Early to the Late Middle Ages, with the clockwork already invented and any guttersnipe knowing the term clockwise...


View attachment 1038771
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Great picture, and fascinating snippet of history.. the early seventh century doesn’t get a lot of attention! I see you are deploying your usual sfumato effects, very successfully. The screw-type slow impalement is beautifully depicted. :clapclap:
 
impressive work and realistic contortions of poor Romilda...

Arcimboldo said:
, to make peace through proposal of a marriage alliance was in fact a common and accepted political peace method of the time.
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an entirely decent plan, not her fault it all ended screwed up like that...
Arcimboldo said:
I shifted the story of Romilda from the Early to the Late Middle Ages, with the clockwork already invented and any guttersnipe knowing the term clockwise...
Click to expand...
and including a demonstration how the umm concealed part of the mechanism works ... ouch...
 
Also the whole idea of putting in different background elements (like also the clocktower) and having them hover in an imaginary space works very well here, you can take them as literal cues (clockwise turning, the mechanism) but also as somewhat hazy indicators to prompt one's own image of the setting. Trying to make a fully detailed perspective-correct background apart from being lots of work would probably detract, and be less enabling for the viewers' imaginations...
 
malins said:
Also the whole idea of putting in different background elements (like also the clocktower) and having them hover in an imaginary space works very well here, you can take them as literal cues (clockwise turning, the mechanism) but also as somewhat hazy indicators to prompt one's own image of the setting. Trying to make a fully detailed perspective-correct background apart from being lots of work would probably detract, and be less enabling for the viewers' imaginations...
Click to expand...
Precise description of my intent! Thank you!
 
It is another classic pic where you've returned to the theme of a rotating mechanism as shown here in a much earlier one
33G.Screwed.jpg In my files it's simply called "Screwed" so I hope that is correct. When you were at school what subjects were you most interested in? Maths, Science, Languages?

And now I want you to do me a favour. This thread is rather tucked away and people have said that they hadn't noticed it before. However there is now a new Fantasy Forum section near the top of the opening page. It is called Fantasy Forum with a Fantasy Art and Images sub section. It is for new and original work by our members. Please open a thread there and call it something like The New R.Cimboldo or whatever. I would then need to tick a box to approve it. I would then copy and paste pics from this thread and you can add to it whatever you wish. You could of course keep both threads. The new one would be mainly a showcase, and this thread for pics and general chat.
P.S. I never did figure out how the above contraption worked.
 
melissa said:
P.S. I never did figure out how the above contraption worked
Click to expand...
I think it’s just a kind of upright rack , you turn the screw and it pushes up the part to which her wrists are tied (she’s lucky they used ropes instead of those spikes!).. and she is gradually stretched. Also the ropes to her ankles will be shortened as the screw turns, pulling her ankles wider apart, stretching her even further. INGENIOUS!!
 
melissa said:
It is another classic pic where you've returned to the theme of a rotating mechanism as shown here in a much earlier one
View attachment 1039134 In my files it's simply called "Screwed" so I hope that is correct. When you were at school what subjects were you most interested in? Maths, Science, Languages?

And now I want you to do me a favour. This thread is rather tucked away and people have said that they hadn't noticed it before. However there is now a new Fantasy Forum section near the top of the opening page. It is called Fantasy Forum with a Fantasy Art and Images sub section. It is for new and original work by our members. Please open a thread there and call it something like The New R.Cimboldo or whatever. I would then need to tick a box to approve it. I would then copy and paste pics from this thread and you can add to it whatever you wish. You could of course keep both threads. The new one would be mainly a showcase, and this thread for pics and general chat.
P.S. I never did figure out how the above contraption worked.
Click to expand...
Ok, I have just opened the thread "From Arcimboldo to R. Cimboldo...".
Regarding the school subjects: Of course not languages, otherwise my English would be better :(
And the functional principle of the device: Well, a sophisticated kind of corkscrew. With a humanitarian mode (as depicted) and a CruxForums mode (with the spikes through the wrists or palms).
 
montycrusto said:
I think it’s just a kind of upright rack , you turn the screw and it pushes up the part to which her wrists are tied (she’s lucky they used ropes instead of those spikes!).. and she is gradually stretched. Also the ropes to her ankles will be shortened as the screw turns, pulling her ankles wider apart, stretching her even further. INGENIOUS!!
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Exactly! It seems sciences and mathematics were your favorites in school, too?
 
Arcimboldo said:
Exactly! It seems sciences and mathematics were your favorites in school, too?
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Absolutely not, I can’t add up two and two. I do like clever devices though.. and this is one of the cleverest. :p I also like artworks that repay close scrutiny and demand time to appreciate fully. (I have been known to make intricate devices with springs and joints etc, and attempt to pass them off as sculptures!)
 
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melissa said:
It is another classic pic where you've returned to the theme of a rotating mechanism as shown here in a much earlier one
View attachment 1039134
P.S. I never did figure out how the above contraption worked.
Click to expand...
Unlike the "clockwise" apparatus, not the nut but the screw rotates (or: is rotated manually). The moveable wooden block above the poor girl's head is guided on a rail.
Montycrusto gave precise explanation of the function and I'm adding a graphic description.

top honours.jpg
 
Arcimboldo said:
Unlike the "clockwise" apparatus, not the nut but the screw rotates (or: is rotated manually). The moveable wooden block above the poor girl's head is guided on a rail.
Montycrusto gave precise explanation of the function and I'm adding a graphic description.

View attachment 1039830
Click to expand...
Yes ! I even noticed that you wrapped the rope the right way around the screw shaft; many people would have got that wrong .. I had to “rotate” it in my head, to check!
 
Arcimboldo said:
Unlike the "clockwise" apparatus, not the nut but the screw rotates (or: is rotated manually). The moveable wooden block above the poor girl's head is guided on a rail.
Montycrusto gave precise explanation of the function and I'm adding a graphic description.

View attachment 1039830
Click to expand...
Dear Archimedes,
If that thread is turned clockwise from above using the handles shown then it would move downwards. You would have to turn the thread clockwise as seen from below and hence anticlockwise as seen from above to make it move in the direction of the arrow.
 
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melissa said:
What sort of screws are you using? If the handles are turned clockwise as seen from above then the screw would move downwards. To make it go upwards you would have to turn the handles clockwise from below which of course would appear anticlockwise from above. Over here, as far as nuts, bolts and screws are concerned we say Righty tighty, lefty loosey.
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The screw doesn’t move up or down, just rotates. This forces the panel (to which her arms are tied) to move up or down, since it has a threaded hole through the middle, and is mounted so it can slide up or down the upright members of the frame. It’s like when you tighten or loosen a vice, the threaded screw rotates in place, and makes one jaw of the vice move closer or further away from the other.
 
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