Scenes of violence on 18th – 19th centuries painted tiles
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-4-88-99
Abstract
The paper considers scenes of violence on Russian smooth painted tiles. Usually that genre scenes represent an armed warrior who kills his vanquished enemy. Related to that subject are solitary figures of mounted and foot soldiers, armed with swords, sabers, rapiers, bows and pistols. Weapons and horses became an attributes of heroic plot. The main visual source for scenes of violence on tiles was engravings from folk bibles. A variety of plots, from executions and suicide attempts to everyday scenes of a peaceful nature could be interpreted as a warrior’s victory in battle. Text cliches (mottos, that were borrowed from emblematic collections) were used as signatures on tiles, what created the narrative background: challenge to a duel or victory celebration. One can understand from the text of the Motto that the protagonist with whom the viewer of the tile could solidarize is the murderer, not the victim. Popular interest in the horror element and the popularity of the heroic plot lead to the appearance of curious ornaments: for example, the image of a warrior with a severed enemy’s head.
About the Author
O. A. Kuznetsova
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Olga A. Kuznetsova, Cand. of Sci. (Philology)
bldg. 51, bld. 1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991
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Review
For citations:
Kuznetsova O.A. Scenes of violence on 18th – 19th centuries painted tiles. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2023;(4):88-99. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-4-88-99
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