Discover the MythCloud

The pencil sketch Various Mythological and Religious Scenes, Inventory No. 2138(II)/124, by Nicaise De Keyser (1813-1887), forms part of the prestigious collection at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium's leading art institution established in the early 19th century.

De Keyser, who served as director of the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts from 1855 to 1879, was known for his historical paintings and portraits in the Romantic style. This particular sketch illustrates his practice of combining mythological and religious themes, demonstrating the fluid boundaries between these narrative traditions in 19th-century European art.

The work offers insight into De Keyser's creative process, showcasing his narrative-driven approach and detailed draftsmanship. Through such sketches, we can observe how artists of this period drew parallels between classical and Christian traditions, using both as repositories of moral and philosophical meaning.

This combination of mythological and religious imagery reflects the 19th-century European tendency to view both traditions as complementary sources of cultural authority and symbolic meaning. De Keyser's work exemplifies the scholarly approach to narrative art during this period, when artists were expected to demonstrate familiarity with both classical mythology and biblical stories.

The preservation of preliminary sketches like this one in major museums provides valuable insights into artistic methodology and the intellectual frameworks that guided narrative art during this period, revealing how mythology continued to serve as a vital source of artistic inspiration alongside religious themes.

The woodcut Minerva and Mercurio (Inventory No. 10558) at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) represents a printer's mark associated with Jan van Meurs, a significant figure in Antwerp's printing industry during the early modern period when the city was one of Europe's most important publishing centres.

This printer's mark features two classical deities: Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, crafts, and strategic warfare (equivalent to the Greek Athena), appears on the left, while Mercury, messenger of the gods and patron of commerce, communication, and eloquence (Greek Hermes), is depicted on the right. The choice of these particular deities for a printer's mark is significant, as they represent the intellectual and commercial aspects of the printing trade during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

The woodcut is attributed to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the foremost Flemish Baroque painter whose influence extended beyond painting to design work for various media, including book illustrations and prints. Rubens frequently incorporated classical references in his work, reflecting the humanist education and values prevalent among cultural elites of the period.

Printer's marks functioned similarly to modern logos, identifying the origin of books and establishing brand recognition in the early modern book trade. The use of mythological figures in these marks reflects the Renaissance interest in classical antiquity and demonstrates how printers positioned themselves as disseminators of learning and culture, not merely commercial producers.

This particular woodcut exemplifies the intersection of commercial practice, artistic craftsmanship, and classical learning that characterised elite print culture in 17th-century Antwerp, offering insight into how mythology permeated even the practical aspects of knowledge production and dissemination.

Ana Torfs' Echolalia exhibition, hosted at WIELS, Brussels in 2014, offers a sophisticated exploration of language as both a communicative tool and a perpetual source of misunderstanding. Through six visual installations created over a five-year period, Torfs examines how meaning shifts as words move across contexts, languages, and media—a process that parallels the transmission and transformation of mythological narratives throughout human history.

The exhibition's title itself invokes both linguistic development and pathology—the repetitive speech of a learning child or a compulsive condition—suggesting that repetition serves simultaneously as a means of mastering language and as evidence of its limitations. This duality mirrors the way cultural myths function: through repetition they become embedded in collective consciousness, yet each retelling subtly alters their form and meaning.

Torfs' work reveals how language, like mythology, exists at the intersection of precision and ambiguity. Her installations demonstrate that translation—between languages, between word and image, between past and present—inevitably transforms meaning while attempting to preserve it. This paradox lies at the heart of mythological transmission across generations and cultures, where essential narratives persist while details evolve to remain relevant to changing contexts.

By creating an alternative narrative of Western cultural history through these installations, Torfs engages in a form of mythmaking herself—selecting, rearranging, and recontextualising cultural elements to create new meaning. Her work thus serves as both an analysis of how cultural narratives function and a demonstration of the process itself, inviting viewers to recognise their own participation in the continuous reinterpretation of shared stories that shapes our understanding of reality.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) displays Pomona, Inventory No. 2232, a copper sculpture by Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), a significant figure in 20th-century modernist sculpture. This piece offers a compelling modern interpretation of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards.

In Roman mythology, Pomona was unique among the pantheon for her exclusive association with cultivation rather than wild nature. She was portrayed as a skilled gardener who preferred the cultivated countryside to the untamed forests, symbolising humanity's relationship with domesticated landscapes. Her myth most famously includes the story of her courtship by Vertumnus, god of seasons and change, who won her affection by disguising himself in various forms.

Zadkine, born in Russia but primarily active in France, was known for his dynamic and expressive sculptures that blended cubist influences with more traditional forms. His interpretation of Pomona likely incorporates his signature style, which often featured elongated, angular forms and textured surfaces that create a sense of movement and emotional intensity.

The sculpture reflects Zadkine's deep engagement with mythology and nature, exploring themes of growth, fertility, and the relationship between humanity and the natural world. His modern treatment of this classical subject demonstrates how ancient mythological figures continue to provide rich material for artistic exploration across changing aesthetic movements.

The inclusion of this work in KMSKA's collection highlights Zadkine's significance in 20th-century art history and demonstrates the museum's commitment to representing the evolution of mythological subjects through modern artistic interpretation.

Seven Ages: The Story of the Irish Stateis a landmark documentary series produced in 2000 by Araby Productions for RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland. Directed by Seán Ó Mórdha, this influential seven-part series chronicles Ireland's evolution since its founding in 1921 through key political, social, and cultural moments in history.

The series offers a comprehensive exploration of how Ireland, as a new nation-state, evolved a collective identity over its first seven decades. The shared national narrative, initially framed by founding leaders, evolved through a dynamic interplay of internal and external socio-economic-cultural forces. It reveals the complex process through which societies construct and sustain their sense of collective self

Episode 5 analyses how Ireland's cultural opening in the 1960s represents a fascinating case study in the evolution of national mythologies. The emergence of a new narrative centred on progress and modernity reveals the dynamic nature of collective storytelling, showing how societies periodically reformulate their foundational myths to accommodate changing social conditions and aspirations.

Seán Ó Mórdha's documentary series presents this period as a pivotal moment where Ireland began consciously revising its self-conception, illustrating how national identities are not fixed but continuously negotiated. The series demonstrates that such cultural shifts are rarely complete ruptures with the past but rather reinterpretations that incorporate new elements while maintaining narrative continuity with established traditions.

Each episode examines crucial developments in Ireland's evolution, revealing how national mythologies serve both as reflections of social change and as frameworks that shape how those changes are understood and integrated. The documentary features perspectives from influential figures in Irish politics and culture, offering insights into how those at the centre of transformative periods perceive and articulate emerging narratives.

By analysing the interplay between tradition and innovation in national storytelling, the series provides a nuanced understanding of how societies manage cultural transitions. First broadcast in 2000, Seven Ages remains a valuable resource for understanding how national identities evolve through an ongoing dialectic between established narratives and emerging social realities, demonstrating that the stories nations tell about themselves are always works in progress.

Finnish mythology represents a fascinating synthesis of cultural influences, sharing connections with Estonian, Slavic, Baltic, and Norse traditions while maintaining distinctive characteristics shaped by Finland's specific historical and environmental context. The persistence of mythical poem-singing and storytelling into the 19th century demonstrates how oral traditions maintained cultural resilience despite political pressures and religious changes, preserving distinctive worldviews and values through narrative transmission.

The bear's sacred status in Finnish mythology—referred to by euphemisms such as "mead-paw" (mesikämmen) and "browed one" (otso) rather than by its actual name—exemplifies how traditional societies developed complex linguistic and ritual relationships with powerful natural forces. The prohibition against direct naming reflects sophisticated understanding of language's power, suggesting that verbal identification could potentially summon or offend the being in question. This linguistic caution demonstrates how mythological thinking extended beyond abstract belief into practical engagement with environmental forces through careful management of human behaviour.

The bear's ambiguous status—not strictly a god yet more than mere animal—reveals how pre-Christian European traditions often recognised intermediate categories between human, animal, and divine domains. The association between bears and ancestors suggests conceptual frameworks that understood human relationship to nature as familial rather than adversarial, creating ethical frameworks for environmental interaction based on kinship rather than domination. This relational understanding provided sophisticated guidelines for sustainable coexistence with powerful natural forces.

The modern revival of interest in Finnish mythology demonstrates how traditional narrative frameworks continue to provide meaningful ways of understanding cultural identity and human-environment relationships even in secularised modern contexts. By reconnecting with traditional ecological knowledge embedded within mythological frameworks, contemporary Finnish culture finds resources for addressing current challenges while maintaining distinctive cultural identity. This ongoing engagement exemplifies how mythological thinking evolves through creative reinterpretation rather than mere preservation, maintaining relevance by addressing contemporary concerns through established symbolic patterns.

The Zupełnie Nowa Mitologia (Completely New Mythology) exhibition at the Contemporary Art Gallery "MS44" in Świnoujście, Poland, represents a significant artistic exploration of how mythological frameworks continue to shape contemporary understanding while adapting to address modern concerns. This exhibition brings together diverse artists who engage with the concept of mythology not as ancient history but as a living, evolving system of meaning-making.

The exhibition challenges conventional understandings of mythology by blending historical narratives with contemporary issues, creating dialogue between traditional symbolic systems and present-day social, political, and environmental concerns. Through this approach, it demonstrates how mythological thinking remains relevant in the 21st century, providing frameworks for interpreting complex realities and articulating collective experiences.

Participating artists employ diverse media and aesthetic strategies to question traditional views of mythology, offering fresh perspectives on how myths influence our understanding of the world and our place within it. Their works suggest that mythological thinking is not merely a relic of pre-scientific thought but a fundamental aspect of human cognition that continues to shape perception and meaning-making in the current socio-political landscape.

By challenging the conventional boundaries of mythological storytelling, the exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on the ways in which contemporary societies continue to construct collective narratives that function as myths—providing explanatory frameworks, establishing cultural values, and creating shared points of reference that bind communities together despite increasing fragmentation and individualisation.

This exhibition offers a compelling exploration of the intersection between art, myth, and society, urging viewers to reconsider how collective memories and identities are formed and communicated in an age of rapid technological and social change. It suggests that mythology is not a static artifact but a dynamic process of cultural production that continues to evolve in response to changing circumstances and needs.

The Toporzeł —a controversial emblem created by Polish sculptor and painter Stanisław Wyspiański in 1935—exemplifies how nationalist movements often generate new mythological symbols that blend historical references with contemporary political aspirations. By fusing the imagery of an axe (topór) and an eagle (orzeł), Szukalski created a symbol intended to replace the traditional White Eagle, positioning it as an emblem of national rebirth that would connect modern Polish identity to its perceived Slavic roots.

The symbol's creation reflects the interwar period's intense search for authentic national identity following Poland's reemergence as an independent state after extended foreign domination. Szukalski's vision of a revitalised Polish culture drew on nationalist interpretations of prehistory and mythology to construct a narrative of Polish exceptionalism and cultural continuity despite historical disruptions. This approach exemplifies how nationalist movements selectively reinterpret historical and mythological elements to create compelling narratives of national destiny.

The Toporzeł 's subsequent appropriation during the German occupation of Warsaw reveals the darker potential of nationalist symbolism. Its use by some Polish anti-Semites to mark Christian-owned shops, promoting economic boycotts against Jewish businesses, demonstrates how cultural symbols can be redeployed in ways their creators never intended. This repurposing exemplifies how mythological frameworks, once established, can evolve beyond their creators' control, acquiring new meanings through changing historical contexts.

This emblem's complex legacy illustrates the ambiguous nature of nationalist mythology—simultaneously expressing legitimate aspirations for cultural self-determination while potentially facilitating exclusionary and harmful political agendas. The tension between these possibilities exists within many nationalist symbolic systems, which typically combine elements of cultural celebration and boundary-drawing that define both who belongs within the national community and who is excluded from it. The Toporzeł thus stands as a powerful example of how modern political movements continue to generate new mythological frameworks to address contemporary concerns about collective identity and purpose.