Fantasy of the Middle Ages

Drawing from the museum’s impressive collection of medieval manuscripts, this exhibition at the Getty Center in Los Angeles (21 June–11 September) looks at the enduring influence of the Middle Ages on visual culture, with everything from Game of Thrones to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the Brothers Grimm taking inspiration from the medieval period. The relationship between fantasy and history is the subject of the first two sections, titled ‘The Medieval Imagination’ and ‘The Magical Middle Ages’, which illustrate how medieval folklore has inspired everything from costume design to architecture in later eras; highlights include early character sketches for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959). The exhibition also looks at the ways in which medieval landscapes have been reimagined in artworks such as Andy Warhol’s pop-up castle (1967). Find out more on the Getty Center’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here 

Study for King Hubert from Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney Productions) (1959), Kay Nielson. Courtesy Walt Disney Animation Research Library; © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

The Battle Between Anault de Lorraine and his wife Lydia (1467–1472), Loyset Liédet (1448–1478) and Pol Fruit (c. 1468). Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The Waiting Maid Sprang Down First and Maid Maleen Followed (1917), Arthur Rackham. Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA

Stolzenfels Castle (1878), C. Hertel. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The Battle of Lignin and Scenes from Life of Saint Hedwig (1353), unknown Silesian artist. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles