The Noble Dragon, 1996 |
The symbolism of the
dragon is complex and powerful, and it occupies an important place within the
pantheon of symbols in many cultures throughout the history.
The dragons are very
old and important element of the mythological universe. In China the dragon is the oldest
mythological animal and symbolizes the Earth’s fertility, the power of creation
and the Emperor’s power. Japanese woodblokck print |
In the European
culture the dragon mainly symbolizes greed and lust. That is why it has often
been depicted as a creature that spends his days stealing fair maidens, and
laying on his golden treasure and jealously protecting it. This is in a way a
simplification of the function and the symbolism of the eastern dragon, who is
basically a guardian of the “ hidden treasure”. Therefore it can be said that
the European dragon means bringing the spiritual symbolism to the basic, lower
urges and needs of the human being.
Ivan Bilibin |
Contrary to the
eastern dragon, who is generally a positive phenomenon, in the western
tradition the dragon has mainly been perceived as a negative, bad creature, and
therefore in the psychological sense
he is often connected to the internal problems and obstacles that have to be
overcome on the way of moral and spiritual enlightenment.
They represent those
monsters from our subconscious who are guarding the threshold to the “Hero’s
adventure”, and the higher level of existence. A Hero must slain the dragon in
order to get to another level, the next leg of the journey on his developmental
path.St. Georg and the Dragon, 2000 |
In the Arthurian legend there is a creature that makes its appearance in the story of the Questing Beast. Although described as a creature that has a serpent head and tail, a leopard body, a lion's hindquarters and deer’s feet, it has often been depicted as a strange dragon-like creature. In the story this beast appears in front of King Arthur, who is resting near a deep pool, after an exhausted deer hunt. There is a noise like the barking of a hound pack coming from within the beast’s body. Only when the creature drinks from the pool the noise ceases. After that the beast goes away and disappears into the bushes.
Not being able to understand the meaning of this strange apparition, Arthur goes to Merlin to seek his advice. Merlin tells Arthur that the Questing Beast was the evil spawn of a princess who wished to have an unholy union with her own brother. When the brother rejected his sister's incestuous advances, she made a bargain with the devil, who then murdered the brother and fathered the Questing Beast on her. Significantly, Arthur catches a glimpse of this beast shortly after his own incestuous encounter with his half-sister Morgan le Fay.
Pavel Tatarnikov |
However, in his magnificent book Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell gives us another clue as to what the actual symbolism of this intriguing creature might be. He says that this creature’s symbolism is related to the function of the disgusting and rejected frog from The Frog-prince, a famous Brother Grimm’s fairytale, who dives to the bottom of a deep pool and gives back to the princess her lost golden ball.
Both the frog and the Questing Beast are the manifestations of a force that might be perceived as a herald, or the announcer of the adventure. This herald (in fairytales often represented by an ugly frog, serpent (dragon), a mysterious person or a rejected one) is the representative of the unconscious deep, wherein are hoarded all of the rejected, unadmitted, unrecognized, unknown or undeveloped factors, laws and elements of existence ,waiting to be explored. "The herald is often dark, loathly or terrifying , judged evil by the world; yet if one could follow, the way would be opened through the walls of day into the dark where the jewels glow”, as Joseph Campbell poetically expressed in his book.
Therefore, in that respect, these ugly beasts are nothing else but the embodiments of the “call to adventure”.
Wladyslaw Skoczylas |
Another intriguing
symbolic meaning of the dragon is to be found in the Alchemy, where a dragon (or serpent), called Ouroboros (means
tail-biter), devours himself and therefore symbolizes the infiniteness of the
Life process, the never-ending cycle of destruction and rebirth.
Lucas Jennis |
So, next time when we
see a dragon flying over the fantasy lands, we should know that this creature
is capable of doing much more than just spitting fire and smashing down the
sturdy castle towers. We just have to give him a chance, but at the same time we need to pray that he does not burn us alive, before revealing the hidden and
forgotten aspects (treasures) of his character. For he is a Dragon after all!
Wonderful post! It's a shame how often dragons are relegated to the evil creature category in a world of black/white good/bad in illustration. It's the metaphorical grey areas and uncertainties that make for fun art.
ReplyDeleteHi Petar, I was just wondering if you would care to give an artist's statement or explanation of the meaning behind your St Georg and the Dragon. I've admired the piece on your website before, but it is only since you reposted it in this blog entry that I become intrigued by its meaning. There are a number of elements that I would love to know the meaning behind but none so much as the story!
ReplyDeleteWell, to be honest, I am not very enthusiastic about explaining my paintings to the audience. If the painting is good, it will offer enough material to the observer to come up with his own explanation. The point is to let your own imagination, your own concepts and projections, lead you towards the satisfactory explanation of the scene and its symbolism .
DeleteBut, this time I will give you a little clue – all in one (see how all the characters are connected)!
Was it necessary to put porn in your art?
ReplyDeleteindeed very lusty and eyecatching st george illustration :)
DeleteInteresting piece.
ReplyDeleteGap in the market for a story with a
Dragon fighting for good.
This article will help raise money for everyone .
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Thank you for your support