Unconventional Chimeira

Art of note in recent times has used very literal interpretations of Chimeira. During some research I found this page which gives a list of some nice pieces and some interesting information about the origin and meaning of the mythical creature and some of the symboklism behind it.

While this was helpful in understanding some of the history, this project is about a more unconventional approach to the subject, so I decided to go through  some artists' work and try to find some imagery that might be interpreted as being similar to a Chimeira.


One of the first pieces that came to mind was this.
Saturn Devours his Son, by Francisco Goya.

The idea behind it taken form mythology, Saturn devoured his son because he was afraid of being overthrown. I find the concept in itself to be very similar to that of the Chimeira. This is something you would nto expect a father to do. The imagery in this painting is also not how you would expect a father to look. He is ravenous and monstrous, almost inhuman, and I believe that is part of the message that is being conveyed.

Triumph of Venus and Cupid - Bronzino

What interests me about this one, and it's relation to the chimeira theme, is the girl in the background. She has the tail of a snake and the legs of a lion. During it's time, this was unlike anything painters of those days painted.

That creature gives an otherwise joyous painting a rather dark element.


This next one may not be appropriate, but I really feel it relates to this topic. Human Tetris by Guillaume Reymond, is somewhat of a chimeira project in itself. People performing in place of the blocks from the classic game Tetris. It is a fantastic idea, really creative and well executed.