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"Malo mori quam foedari": The Symbol of the Ermine in the Visual Arts and Period Thinking.
Marešová, Markéta ; Konečný, Lubomír (advisor) ; Dobalová, Sylva (referee)
The master's thesis "Malo mori quam foedari": The Symbol of the Ermine in the Visual Arts and Period Thinking focuses on the origin and development of ermine symbolism and its application in the European environment between antiquity and the end of the 16th century. The springboard for this work is the iconic painting of the Italian Renaissance attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, Lady with an Ermine, in which this animal holds a prime position. By placing the ermine in the foreground of the painting and thanks to the exceptionally masterful rendering, the artist gives the creature and its symbolism a key role in the reading and understanding of the painting's meaning. The advanced level of humanistic education in the European royal courts made it possible to not only create but also to understand various symbolic references in the visual arts and literature. One such example is the symbolisms of the ermine, the roots of which reach as far back as ancient history. The central aim of the presented work, besides the evaluation of existing knowledge concerning the Lady with an Ermine, is the synthesis and presentation of interpretations of the ermine as a symbol in all its depth and breadth, and in all its historic and local transformations that have thus far not been systemically mapped. The basis of...
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Ermine as symbol and its resonance in fine arts
Marešová, Markéta ; Konečný, Lubomír (advisor) ; Murár, Tomáš (referee)
The master's thesis Ermine as Symbol and its Resonance in the Fine Arts focuses on the origin and development of ermine symbolism and its application in the European environment between antiquity and the end of the 16th century. The choice of the ermine as the subject of research arose from the dearth of systematic inquiry into both the symbolism of this particular animal, as well as its presence in the visual arts, which is rare compared to that of some other animals. From the uncertain identification of the ermine in classical sources and its possible confusion with other mustelids, the originally ambivalent symbolism of the ermine crystallized during the Middle Ages: the ermine came to represent integrity and moral purity. The ermine in its snow-white coat carried the allegory of these qualities and, in its significance, it also gradually became a political symbol and a representational strategy demonstrating social status and power. The main purpose of the present work, besides evaluating existing knowledge related to this topic, is primarily to synthesize and present the interpretation of the ermine as a symbol not only in its full breadth, but also in all its period and local iterations and transformations. The basis of this study is the location, description and comparison of the connections...
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