It counts with a foolish old woman whom you have captivated," replied Mademoiselle, with her wriggling laugh. The stories of mythology, of the hubris of gods and the struggles of mortals, also remind us of the wider issues that are affecting our planet today.

This piece is a distorted vision of the Portrait of Inocencio X, originally painted by the Spaniard Diego Velázquez in 1650. The painting is part of a series composed of forty five variants that Bacon created over more than two decades. When the artist was questioned about his obsession for painting so many canvases of the same subject, he declared that he had nothing against the pope, and only sought an excuse to use these colors. On display at the Orsay Museum in Paris, the painting alludes to a passage from Dante’s Divine Comedy. It depicts the entrance of the poet Virgil and Dante himself in the eighth circle of hell, where they encounter counterfeiters. The condemned alchemist Capocchio is bitten by Gianni Schicchi, a real person who lived in Florence in the thirteenth century, and who was condemned to the inferno for impersonating other indentities. Edna was sobbing, just as she had wept one midnight at Grand Isle when strange, new voices awoke in her. She arose in some agitation to take her departure. "May I come again, Mademoiselle?" she asked at the threshold. Though these legendary beasts have their roots in literary allegories, Stephen says it is no surprise that some of the most spectacular animals inspire legendary counterparts. Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their approach to building design are rationalism, empiricism, structuralism, poststructuralism, and phenomenology.A selection of works by Fuseli’s contemporaries and followers, dealing with themes of fantasy, horror and perverse sexuality, complement his work. This includes over twenty-five exceptional watercolours and paintings by the visionary artist William Blake, among which will be The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy, The House of Death c.1795; his vampire-like Ghost of a Flea, The Whirlwind: Ezekial’s Vision c.1803–5; The Witch of Endor Raising the Spirit of Samuel 1783 and Death on a Pale Horse c.1800. To restrict the meaning of (architectural) formalism to art for art’s sake is not only reactionary; it can also be a purposeless quest for perfection or originality which degrades form into a mere instrumentality”. One is beautiful, serene, powerful, mysterious,' says Stephen. 'The other a plain straight forward growling, slobbering, slavering beast like a horribly mutated hybrid of pit bull, bulldog and Rottweiler perhaps. Yet somehow one feels rather sorry for him.'

This scene belongs to a painting that is presented as a series of three images. The last of the paintings, located on the right side of the original altarpiece, is a representation of the Inferno, characterized by its highly symbolic content, and is considered one of the most fascinating and enigmatic paintings in the history of art. It is currently part of the permanent exhibition at the Prado Museum in Madrid. Of course, they are built to tear flesh. Their beauty is all about strength, speed and killing. Ted Hughes described the eagle as a "huddle-shawled, lightning-faced warrior" who "stamps his shaggy-trousered dance on an altar of blood." The strange and the fantastic are terms that share a privileged place in the art world and its criticism. The effect and value of these paintings are not due to pastel shades or the attractive, canonically beautiful figures. These pieces portray highly symbolic and disturbing scenes painted by their creators in a way that surpasses our imagination or experience.Usually, gods and goddesses are the epitome of beauty and are portrayed as such, even in their most unflattering moments. Enter Francisco Goya! He broke from tradition with this rendition of Saturn. Before we dive into that, let’s take a look at the story behind this strange painting. According to the myth, the titan, Saturn, had been told via prophecy that one of his sons would usurp him and take his power, Naturally, Saturn wasn’t fond of that idea. He liked his power and wanted to keep it. So, Saturn ate one of his sons. Good parenting move, right? What Saturn didn’t know is that his wife, Rei, had hidden her youngest son, Zeus. In the end, Zeus ended up conquering the titans. Sorel’s beauty made quite an impression on the king, which, unsurprisingly, lead her to become his mistress. In this strange painting, Fouquet has captured that beauty, from the way her fashion-forward dress accentuates her body to her porcelain skin, and her demure gaze, she embodies ideal beauty. According to legend, Sorel’s bosom was quite eye-catching. Not to compare apples to oranges, but they are quite askew in both placement and size in the portrait. That factor might make you wonder what the men in the left panel are really looking at. It was written about you, not to you. 'Have you seen Mrs. Pontellier? How is she looking?' he asks. 'As Mrs. Pontellier says,' or 'as Mrs. Pontellier once said.''If Mrs. Pontellier should call upon you, play for her that Impromptu of Chopin's, my favorite. I heard it here a day or two ago, but not as you play it. I should like to know how it affects her,' and so on, as if he supposed we were constantly in each other's society." Jean Fouquet, The Melun Diptych, 1452, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany. Photo by Sailko via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 3.0). Such texts as these allow the narrative of Victorian Gothic, which is routinely interpreted as one of a turning away from the supernatural towards the psychological, and of increasing secularism of outlook, to be rather reread as presenting a transcendent reality in which the natural depends upon the supernatural element for its metaphysical stability, as here in Semur the living depend upon the dead.

Sometimes, however, creatures that could be considered mythical have later turned out to be a reality. Legends of the Kraken may refer to animals such as the giant squid, a twelve-metre-long animal which has only been pictured alive within the past 20 years, or the similarly large colossal squid which is yet to be observed in its natural habitat. Before the surrealists were possessed by objects they found at Paris flea markets, Marcel Duchamp "selected" his readymades. The difference between a Duchampian readymade and a surrealist object is the difference between Duchamp's sly irony and Dalí's ecstatic obsessions. Duchamp's objects, however, evoke the same irrational forces that were to loom large in surrealism. This 1915 readymade consists of a snow shovel and a title that warns of imminent injury: Whose arm is about to be broken? Is it mine? This shovel is a humorous portent.Created specifically for King Phillip IV of Spain, Rubens depicted the moment the god Saturn bites into the flesh of one of his sons upon learning that one of them will serve as his replacement. The painting shows Saturn in very realistic human form devouring a small child while leaning on his scythe. If this last painting doesn’t sum up the odd subtleties that make art so weird, I’m not sure what does. We know that some art is just plain strange and bizarre and we have to accept it at face value. However, knowing the visual languages of old can add some extra weirdness to many a piece of art. Hieronymous Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (right panel), c. 1480-1505, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain. Detail. We all need to remind ourselves of the astonishing achievements that evolution can make over huge amounts of time,' he says. 'Following its simple rules, just as water follows gravity, it makes and remakes, shaping and reshaping living organisms to perfect them for tasks in ways that still astonish us.'