Sirens and Mermaids (Olga E.)

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Sirens and Mermaids
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an animal woman, sensual, erotic, wild,
indomitable, tempting, evil, dangerous, but
sometimes sympathetic and innocent ...
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from the siren with a fish by Hugo of Fouilloy to
the bird-woman flying over Ulysses' ship by
Waterhouse through the merciless and deadly
mermaid by Leighton and the beautiful mermaid
with a bouquet of flowers by Chagall
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Sirens and Mermaids from the Middle Ages to the
20th century paintings
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Sirens and Mermaids and the Medieval European
manuscripts A deadly creature, half woman,
half bird or fish. A few illustrations include
bearded male sirens.
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a siren an onocentaur a boat full of sailors A
group of sailors in a crowded boat have been put
to sleep by a siren, while an onocentaur points
at them. The siren is part woman and part
bird. The siren and onocentaur are often
illustrated together because they are both
symbols of lust. Manuscript
Physiologus Siren Sirène Sirena Early 14th
century Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 3206 (De
naturis rerum / Physiologus), folio 148r, Munich
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Siren playing with an empty bottle The text
says that when sailors see a siren, they throw
empty bottles to her. While she is playing with
the bottles, the sailors make their
escape. Thomas of
Cantimpré Siren Sirène Sirena 13th
century Bibliothèque Municipale de Valenciennes,
MS 320 (Liber de natura rerum), folio 118v,
Valenciennes
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Siren playing pipe to sleeping men The siren
is part women, part bird or fish, or as in this
case, both. Most unusually the woman part is
clothed. The siren's music puts men to sleep,
then she kills them. Richard de
Fournival Siren Sirène Sirena ca.
1285 Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fr. 412
(Bestiaire d'amour), folio 240r, Paris
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Female and male sirens with a fish Sirens are
usually shown charming or attacking sailors in a
ship. This unusual image shows a female and male
siren sharing a fish. Sirens are sometimes
shown holding a fish. In Christian symbolism the
fish could represent the human soul, so the
siren holding a fish may suggest that the siren
does not just eat sailor's bodies but also their
souls. Manuscript Bestiary of Hugh
of Fouilloy Siren Sirène Sirena 1240 Bestiary of
Bibliothèque Municipale de Valenciennes, MS 101
(De avibus / Physiologus), folio 198r,
Valenciennes
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A siren lulls a man to sleep with her song, and
when he is asleep she kills him The siren is
guilty of killing the man, but the man is also
guilty because he trusted her. Allegory/Moral Th
e story of the sirens shows that those who take
delight in worldly pleasures will become the
devil's prey. Richard de
Fournival Male siren with man in a boat Sirène
mâle avec un homme dans un bateau Sirena macho
con hombre en un barco 13-14 century Bibliothèque
Nationale de France, fr. 12469 (Bestiaire d'amour
/ L'Image du monde), folio 6v, Paris
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Three sirens with the torso of a woman, the feet
and wings of a bird and the tail of a fish The
siren at the left holds a comb, which is more
often associated with the mermaid as a symbol of
vanity. The one on the right holds a fish this
is common with siren illustrations, and may
represent the human soul. Manuscr
ipt Bestiary Siren Sirène Sirena ca. 1185 Morgan
Library, MS M.81 (The Worksop Bestiary), folio
17r, New York
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Sirens and Odysseus (Ulysses) Come hither, as
thou farest, renowned Odysseus, great glory of
the Achaeans stay thy ship that thou mayest
listen to the voice of us two ... Odyssey XII,
184
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Bird-women flying over the ship with their siren
songs the crew trying to ignore them in order to
get out of there alive and Ulysses listening,
aware that, if he had not been tied up, if it is
not tied, he would succumb and serve as a banquet
for these creatures. John
William Waterhouse Ulysses and the Sirens Ulysse
et les Sirènes Ulises y las sirenas 1891 National
Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
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an approaching vessel (it's Odysseus) and two
sirens very human (down to the waist) and at
their feet three human skulls and others bones to
indicate their intentions Arnold
Böcklin Sirens Sirènes Sirenas 1875 Alte
Nationalgalerie, Berlin
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Odysseus sailing past three sirens
half-woman, half-fish ... and zero
bird Gustave Moreau Les
Sirènes The Mermaids Las sirenas 1885 Musée
National Gustave-Moreau, Paris
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beautiful mermaids invade Ulysses' ship ... As
they climb aboard, an act of assertive sexuality,
their tails disappear and the mermaids change
from into women. The muscly sailors are
apparently terrified by the three naked
girls. Herbert James
Draper Ulysses and the Sirens Ulysse et les
Sirènes Ulises y las sirenas 1909 Ferens Art
Gallery, Kingston upon Hull
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The protagonist is not only Ulysses, there we
are all human beings tied to that fragile mast,
maddened with desire, trying to break the ropes
that bind to reason and prudence, to surrender
to the temptations of life, which, sometimes, as
in this case, have the appearance of song, fish
and women. Pablo Picasso Ulysse et
les sirens Ulysses and Mermaids Ulises y
sirenas 1947 Musée Picasso, Antibes
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a bewitching voice combined with absolute
knowledge no one can resist the charm of
these enchantresses not even artists
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a rocky outcrop a saturnine setting sun a lone
sail on the horizon beautiful figures the sea
serpents replace their feet and merge with the
rocks A skull hides among the rocks, a memento
mori reminding the viewer that these beautiful
women are inherently treacherous.
Gustave Moreau The Sirens Les
Sirènes Las sirenas 1882 Harvard Art Museums/Fogg
Museum, Cambridge
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a merciless and deadly embrace ... A fisherman
in a deep embrace with a mermaid. Frédéric
Leighton tells the story of a mermaid who lures
the fisherman to his death, in retaliation for
the death of his fish (his son).
Frederic Leighton The Fisherman and the Syren Le
Pêcheur et la sirène El pescador y la
sirena 18561858 Bristol City Museum and Art
Gallery, Bristol
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desire and destruction ... the seductive and
threatening mermaid the sailor lost in his
passion despite the violence of the sea, they
seem immersed in a strange calm G
ustav Wertheimer The Kiss of the Siren Le Baiser
de la sirène El beso de la sirena 1882 Indianapoli
s Museum of Art at Newfields, Indianapolis
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a mermaid sitting at the edge of a cliff, lyre in
hand, staring down at a shipwrecked sailor
floating in water, as curious of him as he is
of her John William
Waterhouse The Siren Sirène La sirena 1900 Private
collection
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the melancholy of a mermaid sitting alone on
a rocky beach, yearning for human company, but
unable to live on the land a shell filled with
pearls, which some believed to be formed from the
tears of dead sailors John
William Waterhouse A Mermaid Une sirène Una
sirena 1900 Royal Academy of Arts, London
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a harp-playing triton, three mermaids have
attached themselves to his huge frame as if it
were a raft, the ominously shaped re?ection in
the sea and the oddness of the large-eared
heads that emerge from the water
Arnold Böcklin In The Sea Dans
la mer En el mar 1883 Art Institute Chicago,
Chicago
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a faun, hybrid of man and billy goat, a
mermaid and a high-spirited, vital game on the
seashore, devised with human models
Franz von Stuck Faun and Mermaid Faune et
Sirène El fauno y la sirena 1918 Alte
Nationalgalerie, Berlin
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a Symbolist and erotically connoted
interpretation of the underwater world .. the
filtered sunlight blends in with the deep green
of the water to form the mysterious backdrop
for silverfish and two demonic tadpole-like
mermaids (tadpoles with smiling, womanly
faces) Gustav Klimt Mermaids or Silver
Fish Nymphs Sirènes Sirenas 1899 Albertina, Vienna
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René Magritte shows us a mermaid abandoning her
oceanic environment, but in a surreal twist,
she is a reversed mermaid, with a fish-like head
and human legs. . Where did this come from?
Well, the sea behind of course. So why then
does it exist? Who caught it? The fish looking
out to us seems as ignorant and perplexed as we
will always be. René Magritte
L'invention collective The Collective
Invention La invención colectiva 1933 Private
collection
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a garden a parakeet and a mermaid The
two, simple and beautiful, wearing an ultramarine
blue, look at each other from a distance as if
representing an impossible love between two
incompatible species, one terrestrial and the
other aquatic. Henri Matisse La
Perruche et la Sirène The Parakeet and the
Mermaid El periquito y la sirena 1952
-1953 Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
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A light breeze rustles the leaves of the palms
and a beautiful young mermaid with flowing
red hair and a colourful bouquet of flowers in
her hands floats above the deep blue waters of
the Mediterranean Marc
Chagall Sirène et poisson Sirene and Fish Sirena
y pez 1956-1960 Private collection
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www.wistarie.net/tags/olga-e
Sirens and Mermaids, from the Middle Ages to the
20th century, paintings Sirènes, du Moyen Âge au
XXe siècle, peintures Sirenas, de la Edad Media
al siglo XX., pinturas images and text credit
  www.
Music The Piano Guys Crescendo
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music The Piano Guys Crescendo