Only the top of the Statue of Liberty protrudes from an ice desert, Los Angeles lies in ruins, Pompeii is engulfed in smoke and fire, the luxury ocean liner is tipping to one side; these images that have made an impression on us – even if we “only” know them from the movies.
Since when have people imagined catastrophes? What motifs and stories give them both a pleasant shiver and the greatest fear? Which images of the worst possible outcomes dominated at what times?
Popular imagery and representations from art, literature and mass media since the Renaissance are usually contrasted with the perspective of natural science: “real” ideas of catastrophe versus the “imagined” ones of art or cinema.
But is this opposition true? This catalogue comes to a different conclusion: artistic ideas of the worst possible imaginings always have a true core and a real cause, and scientific illustrations often refer to well-known artistic images to illustrate their research and sometimes also their warnings. And it becomes clear: Both are unified by the most human of all hopes – that the ‘end’ may not be the end after all!
Since when have people imagined catastrophes? What motifs and stories give them both a pleasant shiver and the greatest fear? Which images of the worst possible outcomes dominated at what times?
Popular imagery and representations from art, literature and mass media since the Renaissance are usually contrasted with the perspective of natural science: “real” ideas of catastrophe versus the “imagined” ones of art or cinema.
But is this opposition true? This catalogue comes to a different conclusion: artistic ideas of the worst possible imaginings always have a true core and a real cause, and scientific illustrations often refer to well-known artistic images to illustrate their research and sometimes also their warnings. And it becomes clear: Both are unified by the most human of all hopes – that the ‘end’ may not be the end after all!