Museum Description: Whether or not we acknowledge it, everything we see can hold symbolism. However, the symbolism that we understand is affected by our cultural biases. It wasn't until recently that I understood this idea and how it impacted the way I viewed the world. To deconstruct the biases I held, I decided to research one thing I've held a negative bias about; serpents. I chose to focus on serpents in particular because something that I realized is that I've always subconsciously thought of them as symbolizing evil, but I never stopped to ask myself why I held those views. After finding that my negative bias was a result of my religious culture, I decided I wanted to find out how these creatures were viewed in other cultures.
Impact Statement: The idea of a serpent carries a vast array of meanings in different cultures. The symbolism serpents represent in different cultures ranges anywhere from pure evil, to complementary dualism. My museum will give the opportunity for its viewers to take a look at this animal from a different cultural perspective. In addition, I will be exploring the different ideas that the serpent represents and deconstructing my own bias of what I believe a serpent represents through the artworks provided.
Room One: Serpents in Christianity
The Christian bible mentions serpents throughout its scriptures in many different contexts. Serpents in the bible are either mentioned as characters in different events, or the idea of them is used as an allegory to communicate a message. This room will be exploring the content and the allegories that serpents hold throughout different stories from the bible.
Eve, the Serpent and Death, Hans Baldung
Moses casts his stick that transformed into a snake on the orders of the Lord, that referred to Aaron and Moses, when they had visited Pharaoh (Exodus, IV, 1-5, VII, 8-13), Marc Chagall
Mozes and the brass snake, Anthony Van Dyke
The Glorification of the Eucharist, Peter Paul Rubens
Hans Baldung, Eve, the Serpent and Death, 1510
(Content) This image depicts one of the bible's most infamous events; the fall of mankind. This event had transpired as a result of the angel of light being cast out of heaven for rebelling against God. In retaliation, the angel appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent to convince her to disobey God and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Although God had told Adam and Eve that they would die from eating fruit from the tree, the serpent had convinced her that what they were told was false and that they would not die. The serpent's succession in getting Eve to eat from the tree had caused the first recorded sin against God. According to the bible, their disobedience is what had caused humans to lose immortality as a result of sin.
The artist was able to give the characters of the image personality through their contrasting colors. In Eve, the artist used light tones and a soft texture to her skin to highlight her innocence. In contrast, the serpent is personified through his dark colors and metallic-like skin, creating a dark atmosphere that affects everything that he touches. Connected to the serpent, is what we can assume to be a representation of death. The way the artist chose to illustrate death can be seen as a gruesome figure that looks as if it is a man without skin. The serpent biting into the figure's arm as he grasps onto Eve represents how sin and death go hand in hand.
This story is about how the image of a serpent was originally linked to the idea of sin in the bible. Although it is referenced multiple times throughout the scriptures, the idea of a serpent is given other definitions in Christian symbolism that will be discussed further as we go into this room
Marc Chagall, Moses casts his stick that transformed into a snake on the orders of the Lord, that referred to Aaron and Moses, when they had visited Pharaoh (Exodus, IV, 1-5, VII, 8-13), 1931
This image depicts the first of many miracles performed in Egypt in an attempt to persuade the pharaoh to free the Israelites: turning a staff into a snake. The reason the staff was turned into a snake specifically, was to be a symbol of the Egyptian goddess Wadjet, who was believed to be in control of the land. It is believed that the God of the Hebrews had performed this miracle as a sign of mockery to Wadjet and to establish his place as the one "true God." Although this first miracle was dismissed by the Pharoah, it was only the first of many that broke him down into freeing the israelites.
(Context) The artist Chagall was a Russian-French artist born of Jewish descent. Considering his main focus on art was illustrating East European Jewish folklore, it is no surprise that he created his own interpretation of this event in Jewish history. It is safe to assume that considering his cultural relation to the exodus, he may have felt a personal connection to creating this scene. Rather than creating this art piece just for the sake of creating something he was personally interested in, he may have felt that he was honoring his culture's history in creating this piece.
Anthony Van Dyke, Mozes and the brass snake, 1618-1620
(Content) This image depicts an event in the old testament of the bible where the image of a serpent is used to foreshadow the feature. The story behind this image is that God sent down poisonous snakes to attack the Israelites for their lack of faith. However, he commanded Moses to place a brass serpent upon a pole, so that anyone who was bitten by the snakes would be healed if they simply looked upon it. The image of the brazen serpent that healed people was meant to be an allegory of christ's death on the cross that was to occur hundreds of years later. The poisonous snakes were meant to represent the original sin (which led to death), while the serpent on the pole was meant to symbolize christ taking away the punishment of sin.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Glorification of the Eucharist, 1630-1632
(Form) This image was made to represent how Christ triumphed over sin through his resurrection. As discussed in the first artwork, the serpent was originally linked to the symbolism of sin. Although the serpent is not the focal point of the image, he is seen as being relative to Christ as he is placed right underneath him. His placement in the vertical line of this image shows that although he is considered to be "less than" Christ himself, his role is still an important factor in Christ's resurrection. Although he was responsible for death becoming a thing of existence, Christ shows that he has overcome death by crushing his head underneath his heel.
Room Two: Serpents in Ancient Aztec Culture
In ancient Aztec culture, serpents were seen as creatures to be worshipped as gods. Much of the artwork found made in reverence to these Gods was found to be made out of solid materials such as stone, metal, wood, or seashells. This room will take a look into what these serpent Gods represented to the Aztecs and how they affected their society.
Coiled Serpent
Coatlicue ('Serpent Skirt')
Feathered Serpent Ornament
Mosaic of a Double-headed Serpent
Coiled Serpent, c.900-1580
(Form) This serpent sculpture is something that historians believed to be one of the many artworks that the Aztecs used to adorn their temples. The medium used in this sculpture of a coiled serpent was stone. Although the design of this piece seems quite simplistic, the manual work put into creating it was no easy task. Creating a three-dimensional artwork out of stone requires strength and precision. The artist must use enough strength to carve off what is not to be a part of the piece, but must also have enough self-restraint to not break too much of it off. The artist was able to define the body of the snake by carving curved cylinders that weaved in and out of each other. This technique is what gave the serpent's body a coiled appearance. The defining feature of this piece is the serpent's head, which is identified by the hollow holes representing its eyes, and the line that runs side to side across its face representing its mouth.
Coatlicue ('Serpent Skirt') c.1300 - c.1521
(Content) This sculpture is a depiction of the serpent skirt-wearing Goddess Coatlicue. It is known as one of the most famous pieces of artwork from Aztec history. Just like the name of this art piece, Coatlicue is identifiable by the many serpents that make up her skirt. Another identifiable of Coatlicue is the two large snakes that face each other at the top of the sculpture. If you look at the serpents long enough, you'll see that their two faces combined create a new face with a forked tongue coming out of it. However, the snakes that are placed at the top and sides of her body are not meant to be her head and arms. The story of Coatlicue was that she was an earth goddess that was killed through decapitation and dismemberment. Rather than creating a dismembered body, the Aztecs used serpents to represent blood squirting from the amputation sites.
Feathered Serpent Ornament, c.1401 - 1501
(Content) This ornament is a depiction of the god Quetzalcoatl, who is also commonly referred to as "the feathered serpent." This God symbolized the union of the earth and sky among the Aztecs. It is said that the feathers along his head symbolized him being a part of the sky, while the body of a snake symbolized him as being part of the land. The union of the earth and sky represents a complementary dualism that was typical to the beliefs of the Aztecs.
Mosaic of a Double-headed Serpent, c.1450-1521
(Context) Serpents in Aztec culture were believed to have the ability to slither between the human world and the spiritual world. Because of this ideology, serpents were likened to gods and represented some of the most important icons in the Aztec religion. These gods included Mixcoatl (the Cloud Serpent), Xiuhcoatl (the Fire Serpent), Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent), and more. Their devotion to the serpent had also led to their temples being filled with artwork of serpents in different forms. As a result, it is believed that this mosaic piece was worn as a ceremonial ornament during religious proceedings.
Room Three: Serpents in Greek Mythology
In Greek mythology, serpents are often seen as monsters that the Gods are in a battle with. However, they are no ordinary serpents. The serpents in greek mythology are seen in different forms, creating monsters that we are lucky enough to not see in everyday life. However, these serpents do not appear in mythology for the sole purpose of being an opponent to the gods. But rather, their presence holds a deeper purpose within their stories.
Apollo Vanquishing the Serpent Python, Gustave Moreau
Hercules and the Hydra Lernaean, Gustave Moreau
The Infant Hercules Strangling Serpents in His Cradle, Joshua Reynolds
Medusa, Caravaggio
Gustave Moreau, Apollo Vanquishing the Serpent Python, 1885
(Content) This image depicts a story in Greek Mythology about the God Apollo killing a serpent python. This particular story is an allegory for how fogs and vapor clouds from bodies of water evaporate when sunlight arises. It is said that the python symbolizes fog and vapor clouds, while Apollo symbolizes sunlight. Apollo is determined to be the focal point by the rays of bright light radiating from his body. These rays of light in comparison to the dark atmosphere makes it easy for the viewer to determine that he is a celestial figure. We can also see Apollo about to deliver the final blow to the python by viewing the implied line that is created from his upper left hand and traveling to the lower right in a diagonal line. The line shows that he is about to strike down on the serpent by bringing the knife down onto its body.
Gustave Moreau, Hercules and the Hydra Lernaean, 1876
(Content) Hercules is faced with a monster with nine serpent heads, otherwise known as the Hydra Lernaean. The hydra was bred by the goddess Hera with the intent to kill Hercules. The body of the hydra creates a line that organically occurs throughout the length of its neck. Once our eyes travel down the body of the monster, they are pulled onto the pile of dead bodies lying behind it. Despite the mass destruction, Hercules's posture shows no fear as he takes a strong stance with his body facing forward and ready to fight his opponent.
Joshua Reynolds, The Infant Hercules Strangling Serpents in His Cradle, 1776-1778
To everyone's surprise, Hercules was fighting Monsters before he could even walk! This image depicts an action-packed scene of Hercules battling two poisonous snakes sent to kill him by the goddess Hera. The reason she sent these snakes, was that she was jealous of him because he was the result of her husband Zeus' affair with Queen Alcmena.
(Form) The image holds a circular rhythm of viewing created by an infinite line of movement. We can see Hercules being the center of the circle as he swings the snakes in each hand in a rotational motion. The woman above and the woman to the side of him completes the circle through the placement of their bodies. The circular motion in the image highlights Hercules as the focal point by placing him in the center of the action.
Caravaggio, Medusa, c. 1597
(Content) Medusa is a serpent-like gorgon in Greek mythology who is known for turning men into stone by looking into their eyes. Without knowing her backstory, some may think that she is just a man-hating monster. However, she wasn't always a monstrous gorgon. The origin of her story is that she was a beautiful mortal who was set to become the next priestess of Athena's temple, but only on the condition that she remained pure. One day she was approached by the god Poseidon who was immediately infatuated with her beauty. When she had rejected his advances, she had feared for her life and ran to Athena's temple for protection. Unfortunately, she did not find safety when she arrived and was raped by Poseidon. When Athena found out, she was enraged and punished Medusa by transforming her body into the likeness of a serpent. The lower half of her body became the body of a snake, while her hair transformed into a coil of serpents, transforming her into the monster that we know her as today. The new snake-like appearance was to symbolize the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Her beginning and end of being a mortal symbolize birth and death, and just as a serpent sheds its old skin, her transformation symbolizes rebirth.
Closing Thoughts: This Museum has shown how serpents are portrayed in different cultures throughout time. The vast range of meanings that they hold is an important lesson to us. They teach us that no matter our personal opinions of these creatures (or anything else for that matter), we must always be open to learning about them from a new perspective.