Real Angels and Demons? Part 4: The Movies

Batman vs. Superman

“No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from daddy’s fist and abominations! I figured it out way back! If God is all-powerful, He cannot be all-good, and if He is all-good, then He cannot be all-powerful…and neither can you be.”

—Lex Luthor to Superman

If you’ve ever seen the movie Batman vs. Superman, with Jesse Eisenberg playing Lex Luther, then you might have noticed a painting that is on the wall behind Jesse Eisenberg. It sticks out in my mind particularly because of the performance delivered by Jesse as Lex Luther, but also because of the good vs. evil theme brought even more to life by the painting, which had been turned upside down symbolically by Lex.

It seems like I’m not the only one who has noticed it, and the movie has been out for some time now. I didn’t even realize it was a painting of heavenly or hellish things. So people are wondering What-is-the-heaven-and-hell-painting-in-Batman-v-Superman-and-is-it-real ?

To answer this, people online think the most likely candidate for the image in the movie is Gustave Doré’s illustrations for Milton’s Paradise Lost. I agree. Of course the said illustration below is not a painting, so the movie makers might have taken certain liberties.

I encourage you to visit Gustave Doré’s illustrations for Milton’s Paradise Lost to see more of his ideas and art. Keep in mind that many great artists, authors, and poets have tried to recount good vs. evil themes throughout history, like the painting of the Last Supper for instance.

Movie Trivia: Batman vs. Superman

Here is something I didn’t know!! Alexander Luthor Jr is also known as Lex Luthor, and is the son of Alexander Luther Sr. Most people call the son of Lex Luther Sr., Lex Luther, but Alexander is also perfectly fine.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Now then. I am a fan of Josh Brolin. Who isn’t? I’ve seen the Wall Street movies thus far, and they are timeless. What a blast!

One of the most revealing aspects of Money Never Sleeps is the association the film makes between corporate consumption and cannibalism. Gekko remarks at one point that, “parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth”. Elsewhere, Goya’s famous painting, ‘Saturn Devouring his Son’ hangs prominently in an office belonging to a rival business executive. 

Photo Courtesy of: http://paintingsinmovies.com/

The actors in the scene to the left, are Shia LaBeouf and Josh Brolin. Josh isn’t visible though. I found this photo at http://paintingsinmovies.com/The title of the URL says it all! I’m grateful that I found such a unique website. Take a look if you can.

 

 

The regular size painting of ‘Saturn Devouring his Son’ left, is seen more clearly than the photo from the movie. So there you go. Have a good day.

 

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Angels and Demons Part 3: Henry Fuseli’s “Nightmare”

Who is Henry Fuseli?

Henry Fuseli was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as The Nightmare, deal with supernatural subject-matter. Some people believe Henry Fuseli had secret knowledge into the Illuminati.

Henry Fuseli has an incredible amount of art, so I urge anyone to check Google images to understand the scope of his work.

Henry Fuseli’s Art and its Meaning

The painting above is titled The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be one of the classic depictions of sleep paralysis perceived as a demonic visitation.

Take a look at this Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_hag

The page states that “a night hag or old hag is a creature sighted by various peoples which is used to explain the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. It is a phenomenon during which a person feels a presence of a supernatural malevolent being which immobilizes the person as if sitting on his/her chest or the foot of his/her bed. The word “night-mare” or “nightmare” was used to describe this phenomenon before the word acquired its modern, more general meaning. Various cultures have various names for this phenomenon and/or supernatural character.”

Real Angels and Demons? Part 2

I have personally been told, the cleverest thing a demon can do is convince us it’s not real. On the other hand, sometimes that doesn’t seem to be true at all.

Here is a friendlier quote I like.

The Devil whispered in my ear…“You’re not strong enough to withstand the storm.” Today I whispered in the Devil’s ear, “I am the storm.”

The picture far left is Buer the demon. The picture has interested me since I found it online a few years back. It is in the public domain, so feel free to use it. The grin it has is almost a bit playful in a non-creepy way, but the legs it has on all sides is disconcerting for me.

The more powerful of the two demons, above and to the right, is Baal. The depiction of Baal having a human head, cat head, and frog head is mildly strange to me. However, the concept of a beast of that stature existing is the part that really gets to me. Not to mention the spider legs and the unhappy figure of a man wearing a crown.

The website below gives more detail into Buer the demon.

https://www.stufftoblowyourmind.com/blogs/monster-of-the-week-the-demon-buer.htm

At Stuff to blow your mind.com there are other exciting articles and images there as well. The site is nicely put together. Please visit.

In Lilith by John Collier (1892), the female demon Lilith is shown personified within the Garden of Eden

I haven’t researched this painting, but its seductive nature is a metaphor.

Real Angels and Demons? Part 1

Disclaimer: I follow my faith in God the best I can. In no way do I study angels or demons. What I have written is solely based on things I have been told or read for pure curiosity during my life so far.

The Devil’s Bible: Image source https://www.atlasobscura.com/

There have been various seemingly valid accounts of the Devil visiting people throughout history. I will not cover this in depth, but Padre Pio, whom you have probably heard of, had stigmata for staying true to his faith. Before his death, he wrote about what he believed were demons and/or Lucifer himself. He basically states that sometimes during the night, the Devil would come to him in the form of a cat or a nude woman. He also reported before his death that his blankets would be thrown off while he slept with a force that grabbed him, threw him to the ground, and beat him with vigor. Many holy women and men devoted to God have recounted similar things.

On this same topic, please check out a supernatural mystery called The Devil’s Bible. Many things are known about it, but the Codex Gigas (English: Giant Book) was created during a seemingly impossible amount of time by a Monk. What makes it so hard to fathom is the sheer size of it and the big drawing of the Devil on page 290. The website I gathered some of the info for this post is https://the-line-up.com/. Go there and get your share of bizarre books, movies, stories, and podcasts.

Some Biblical trivia I just learned

Obviously, people practice deeds in the Devils name, publicly or not, and willingly or not. Did you know the Bible states that Satan is “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; 16:11), which begs the question: In what sense is Satan a god and a prince?

The image below is a depiction of an angel in the class called Seraphim, not the Mothman as I originally thought. Seraphim are the highest order of choir angels. They are the angels who are attendants or guardians before God’s throne. The first time I saw this image, I didn’t know what to make of it. It sure didn’t look like an angel to me. It’s not super scary, but I’d have to say it gives me more of an unsettling feeling than the movie, documentaries, and drawings I’ve seen of the Mothman. Eyes are the window to the soul, and this angel seems to mean business. As long as it’s business against my enemy.

Igor Skaletsky and Doppelgängers

A bit of background on this post.

I have had Igor Skaletsky’s artwork and website saved on my phone for at least a year. I had no idea at the time that I would be posting on it. I am happy to share!

Igor Skaletsky’s specialty is painting and collage art. He was born in Voronezh in 1978. He is a talented Russian artist who received his Bachelor’s degree in Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov….

Below you will find an example of his work. It’s delightfully creepy.

Is it a doppelgänger of a young Kristen Stewart? I don’t even know if the piece of art was fashioned after a real person.

Please visit his site and blog.
Website: https://vsemart.com/painting-collage-art-igor-skaletsky/
Blog: https://plus.google.com/+Vsemart

If you visit his site, scroll down a bit to see many more odd and startling collages. His website has many categories, which I have yet to explore! To access these categories, just click the menu drop down on his site.

As a side note, I’ve been collecting doppelgänger photos for some time now. There have been some claims that someone’s doppelganger was stalking them, and much folklore in Ireland and other such places. These superstitions, we could call them, had men killing their wives and doing other crazy things, especially after someone stepped inside a fairy ring, intentionally or not. In conclusion, I just like coincidences in general and I am good at remembering a face. I do believe in the supernatural, but doppelgängers aren’t my area of expertise.

A Funny Coincidence: Hieronymus Bosch + My Blog

Hieronymus Bosch is an artist who I’ve been interested in lately. Now it just so happens that I started watching an Amazon Prime TV series called Bosch. It’s about a cop. One of the production companies in the credits of the show is Hieronymus. Obviously, someone modeled Bosch, the cop, after the artist.

Bosch’s painting to the left is called “The Blessed Accent”

I recommend that you head over to Google and do a search for “Hieronymus Bosch.” Much of his art is creepy and provocative to say the least. He has many works of art. His detail, imagination, and use of lighting are top notch. He is a Dutch painter. Dutch painters aimed for true to life art as well as lighting to show depth, unique to that period. I’ve just started watching Bosch. I highly recommend it. Here is a link for the TV show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosch_(TV_series)

Here is what I consider to be one of his strangest creations. 

Heads up. I will be posting soon about another Dutch painter. The painting has an Anamorphic illusion, seeing as it contains a hidden image when viewed from a certain angle.

Hello! Let Me Introduce Myself.

Here’s a summary of me, my Blog, and why I created it.
Thanks for reading.

So yeah, as you can see from my blog, I like many things. I am also good at many things, and love to teach. Teaching and writing helps me feel connected.

I have been drawing and creating different types of art for most of my life. I absolutely love it! My Uncle and my Grandma, as I called her, were very good artists. My uncle received an art degree. I have some photos of their work that I will be posting.