Wastelands and dragons

Q1 Arts and Humanities Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics Pub Date : 2022-01-01 DOI:10.1086/720963

Emanuele Lugli

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Abstract

You know this story. A valiant knight is summoned by a king to free his land from a terrifying dragon only to find out that the monster has imprisoned the king’s daughter. When the knight arrives in the misty valley and discerns the princess, it is immediate chemistry: eyes piercing through each other’s hearts. The monster catches sight of that visual embrace and launches toward the intruder. A fight ensues: lunges, fake-outs, gnashing of teeth. Eventually, a blow hits the mark: a crack in the demon’s skull. Jolts of freedom erupt in each lover’s chest. It is easy to get carried away; however, this is not what we see in the painting Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello, now in the National Gallery in London (fig. 1). There is no connection between knight and princess. Emotionless, she is sidelined in a rigid profile, pointing with her pale fingers to the painting’s true couple, the hero and the dragon. The eyes that meet are theirs: the crouching reptile gazes up at the rider, whose stare rolls down his lance. The weapon’s extremities are hidden so that it is less a weapon than a visual conduit, a ribbon of paint tying the two figures together. I would like to know more about what I am seeing, but scholarly discussions of the painting routinely refer only to the Golden Legend, the most popular

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荒原和恶龙

你知道这个故事。一位勇敢的骑士被一位国王召唤，从一条可怕的龙手中解放自己的土地，却发现怪物囚禁了国王的女儿。当骑士来到雾蒙蒙的山谷，认出公主时，立刻产生了化学反应：目光穿透彼此的心灵。怪物看到了这种视觉上的拥抱，并向入侵者发起攻击。一场打斗接踵而至：猛扑、假摔、咬牙切齿。最终，一记重击击中了目标：恶魔头骨上的一道裂缝。每一个爱人的胸中都会爆发出自由的喜悦。很容易忘乎所以；然而，这并不是我们在保罗·乌切洛（Paolo Uccello）的画作《圣乔治与龙》（Saint George and the Dragon）中看到的（图1）。骑士和公主之间没有任何联系。她毫无感情，僵硬地站在一边，用苍白的手指指着这幅画的真配，英雄和龙。相遇的眼睛是他们的：蹲着的爬行动物凝视着骑手，骑手的目光顺着长矛往下滚动。武器的四肢是隐藏的，所以它与其说是一种武器，不如说是一个视觉管道，一条将两个人物绑在一起的油漆带。我想更多地了解我所看到的，但学术界对这幅画的讨论通常只提到最受欢迎的《金色传奇》

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Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics Arts and Humanities-Visual Arts and Performing Arts

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期刊介绍： Res is a journal of anthropology and comparative aesthetics dedicated to the study of the object, in particular cult and belief objects and objects of art. The journal brings together, in an anthropological perspective, contributions by philosophers, art historians, archaeologists, critics, linguists, architects, artists, and others. Its field of inquiry is open to all cultures, regions, and historical periods. Res also seeks to make available textual and iconographic documents of importance for the history and theory of the arts.

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