There are two kinds of people in this world, those who love The Mummy and those who don’t know anything about life…
Okay, maybe that was too intense and, before you cringe, let me clarify that I’m talking about the 1999 movie with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Well, it doesn’t matter if you like it or not, what matters is that you must’ve seen it at least once in your life. You might be wondering what does this film has to do with art allegedly having magical properties, and the answer lies in the supernatural essence of the film.
If you remember well, the mummy of the movie was Imhotep, a priest in service of the ancient Pharaoh Seti I. After being discovered by the latter having an affair with his wife, the priest murders the pharaoh and she kills herself. When the royal guards trap him, they bury him alive in a sarcophagus filled with flesh-eating beetles (I need to watch it again). Thousands of years later, an adventurous explorer meets an aspiring Egyptologist and her brother, who are looking for the legendary Book of the Living, which is supposedly made of pure gold. However, in their excavation, they come upon a statue of Anubis (where Imhotep was buried) and a curious black book known as the Book of the Dead. Now, in case you have been living under a rock for almost twenty years, you already know that when they find the book, she reads the first page without knowing that by doing so she has just awakened the priest. Although this sounds completely fanciful, this book actually existed. It was a funeral book filled with illustrations and spells written in hieroglyphics that allowed the deceased to cross into the underworld.
The book isn’t the only magical artistic object related to the movie. The small blue sculpture above was found in Pharaoh Seti I’s sarcophagus. Ancient Egyptians created these sculptures with spells written on them called Shabtis. Hundreds of these figures were placed next to the pharaoh’s sarcophagus, so when the spells were properly recited, all the servants spiritually attached to the pharaoh would come to life and serve him again. Magical associations with art and objects have existed for thousands of years, and many were even used as benign and malign totems. Check these 5 works of art with those properties:
The first on the list doesn’t really have an official name but it was one of the most popular paintings of the late Middle Ages, and often known as The Miraculous Painting of the Annunciation (fourteenth century). In some versions, the creator was an anonymous monk, and in others he’s called Bartolomeo. No matter the name, the story says he was painting the fresco and had already finished the angel. However, after trying many times, he found himself unable of depicting the beauty of the virgin. He fell asleep, and when he woke up the painting was finished. Said to be painted in the heavens by the angel itself, the fresco became an object of adoration and, naturally, a source of magic and power, capable of giving protection to both its devotees and the city of Florence from any threat of danger.
Now, it would seem that Florence was one of the most dangerous cities during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, because they really entrusted themselves to magical protection totems. In the late fifteenth century (in the peak of the Renaissance), one of the most famous masters created two pieces with such magical properties that one could think that the artist was himself a sort of sorcerer bestowing power to his work. And that virtuous and miraculous Renaissance master was none other than Sandro Botticelli. His Annunciation (1485-1492) (I’m sensing a pattern here) was believed to be one of the protectors of the city.
It was during the Renaissance, with all the passion placed into bringing back the glory of Ancient times (especially the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian civilizations’ learnings), when magic was understood as something much more important than just a literature and art trope. Although the Renaissance meant a modern change in the way the world was perceived, they still based much of their thinking in magical or supernatural events and forces. So, returning to Boticelli, his Venus and Mars (1485), was also used as a totem to bring harmony, happiness, and good health. Fortunately, these are paintings you can visit at the Metropolitan Museum in New York or the National Gallery in London. Perhaps you can get some of those magical properties.
Renaissance Italy was a weirdly amazing place to live in. Besides the protection artwork, they also used magic in a dark way. If you dared to betray your nation, you had to be prepared to suffer the worst fate ever. Not only would you endure a terrible physical punishment, but also your face would be displayed in public places. If it was any consolation, you would’ve been painted by some of the greatest artists of the time, but I assure you it wouldn’t be that flattering. More than being warrant portraits, “Pittura d’infamia” or “Paintings of Infamy” were thought to be a curse to provoke the traitor the worst of the misfortunes and tragedies. One of the most famous (and the one we have documents of) is Impicatto by Andrea de Sarto.
Now, last but not least, let’s skip some years forward to the early twentieth century, when some avant-garde artists and intellectuals looked back to their roots in their eagerness to unveil the mysteries of the unknown. Folkloric and primitive art demonstrations were completely connected to a magical thought. Thus some masks, figurines, and other objects were considered to have magical properties. Artists like Pablo Picasso were highly inspired by this artistic moment in history. Moreover, he also believed that art had both benevolent and malicious properties. Because of that, many think that La Celestine (1904) had actually a wicked essence.
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Magic and art have always been linked to human creativity. Magic was believed to be the way invisible sources were able to change the visible world. Therefore, art became the media for this to happen. Who knows? You might have a supernatural weapon exhibited in your living room.
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