The role of images in the perception and simbolic meaning of the monstrous body, 1550-1750

Abstract

Between the mid-sixteenth century and the eighteenth century, images were often present in publications dealing with monsters and served multiple purposes. First, they enabled a vivid visual description of the singular and monstrous body and its validation. Visual representations also played a relevant role in the interpretation of monstrous beings as prodigies interpretation of the birth of monstrous beings considered as prodigies, as they have a high symbolic content. By the end of the seventeenth century and especially in the first half of the eighteenth century, images acquire an important role in medical and scientific study and understanding of monsters. This new function was particularly significant in the activities and publications of two of the main scientific institutions of the period, the Royal Society of London and the Académie Royale des Sciences de Paris.

keywords: images; monsters; prodigies.