Eros and Thanatos  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
Revision as of 13:38, 21 October 2011
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

← Previous diff
Revision as of 14:55, 21 October 2011
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

Next diff →
Line 13: Line 13:
== In art == == In art ==
 +===Death and the maiden===
 +''[[Death and the maiden]]''
 +'''Death and the Maiden''' is a common [[theme]] in [[Renaissance art]], especially in [[painting]]. It was developed from the [[danse macabre|Dance of Death]] consisting of a [[personified death]] figure and a "[[maiden]]". The new element was an [[erotic subtext]]. A prominent representative is [[Hans Baldung Grien]]. (see [[Three Ages of the Woman and the Death]]).
 +
 +The motif was picked up again in [[Romanticism|romantic]] art, a prominent example being [[Franz Schubert]]'s [[lied]] [[Death and the Maiden (song)|Der Tod und das Mädchen]].
-*[[Death and the maiden]] 
==In cinema== ==In cinema==
The erotic horror genre can best be approached through the work of [[Alfred Hitchcock]] in films such as ''[[Psycho]]'' and ''[[Frenzy]]'', as well as the oeuvre of [[Jess Franco]]. The most relevant movie in the genre is ''[[Peeping Tom (film)|Peeping Tom]]'' by (1960) Michael Powell . The erotic horror genre can best be approached through the work of [[Alfred Hitchcock]] in films such as ''[[Psycho]]'' and ''[[Frenzy]]'', as well as the oeuvre of [[Jess Franco]]. The most relevant movie in the genre is ''[[Peeping Tom (film)|Peeping Tom]]'' by (1960) Michael Powell .

Revision as of 14:55, 21 October 2011

Related e

Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Shop


Featured:

"Human sexuality is, quite apart from Christian repressions, a highly questionable phenomenon, and belongs, at least potentially, among the extreme rather than the ordinary experiences of humanity. Tamed as it may be, sexuality remains one of the demonic forces in human consciousness - pushing us at intervals close to taboo and dangerous desires, which range from the impulse to commit sudden arbitrary violence upon another person to the voluptuous yearning for the extinction of one's consciousness, for death itself." --Susan Sontag in the The Pornographic Imagination

Sex and death have gone hand in hand since the earliest times, but were first linked in Freudian psychology. For Sigmund Freud Eros also called libido, libidinal energy or love, is the life instinct innate in all humans. It is the desire to create life and favours productivity and construction. But starting with Freud's essay Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920), Eros is opposed by the destructive death instinct of Thanatos (death instinct or death drive). In going "beyond" the simple pleasure principle, Freud developed his theory of drives, by adding the death instinct, often referred to as "Thanatos," although Freud himself never used this term.

Philosophically, the theme has been explored by Georges Bataille in L'Érotisme.

Contents

In art, literature and cinema

In art

Death and the maiden

Death and the maiden Death and the Maiden is a common theme in Renaissance art, especially in painting. It was developed from the Dance of Death consisting of a personified death figure and a "maiden". The new element was an erotic subtext. A prominent representative is Hans Baldung Grien. (see Three Ages of the Woman and the Death).

The motif was picked up again in romantic art, a prominent example being Franz Schubert's lied Der Tod und das Mädchen.

In cinema

The erotic horror genre can best be approached through the work of Alfred Hitchcock in films such as Psycho and Frenzy, as well as the oeuvre of Jess Franco. The most relevant movie in the genre is Peeping Tom by (1960) Michael Powell .

Further reading

Cinematic bibliography

See also





Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Eros and Thanatos" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Personal tools