Kyoko Nakano Reads "Dark Western Art" Chapter 3: "The Night Bird, the Owl"
Kyoko Nakano explores the symbolic meanings of the owl in Western art through personal experiences, mythology, and paintings.Summary
This article is Chapter 3 of Kyoko Nakano's series "Dark Western Art," focusing on the owl as a bird of the night. Though rarely seen in daily life, the owl's distinctive human-like face, its ability to rotate its head nearly 360 degrees, and its silent flight have led to its association with wisdom and meditation since ancient times, serving as an attribute of the goddess Minerva (Athena). Conversely, in folk belief, it has been regarded as an eerie "bird of the graveyard" or "bird of death." The author shares her own startling encounter with a live owl at a botanical garden and discusses the owl's evolutionary strategy of becoming nocturnal, as well as Hegel's metaphor of "Minerva's owl." She also examines Frans Hals's painting "Malle Babbe," where the owl symbolizes drunkenness, and Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights," which features three owls functioning as symbols of wisdom and darkness. The article interprets the multifaceted meanings of the owl in painting through art history and cultural context.
(Source：美術展ナビ)