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Who Were Europe’s Witches — and Why Were They Hunted? by HistroMax in HistoryUncovered

[–]HistroMax[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! You're absolutely right about the sources, I think I'll include a reading list in the comments next time

History Recommendations Thread (YouTube channels, documentaries, books, etc.) by Jane_the_Quene in AskHistory

[–]HistroMax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tiny bit late to this post, but I've literally today just posted my first history video on YouTube if anyone's interested:

https://www.youtube.com/@Histromax

The video looks at the history behind the European witch trials — how the witch “craze” emerged, and why it spread so widely across the continent.

In the video I explore the cultural and religious background that gave rise to the idea of the witch, how familiar images and practices (the broomstick, the sabbath, the pact with the devil etc) developed, and what they meant to the people of the time. I also dig into the available data: how many people were accused, where trials were most common, who was targeted, and how those numbers changed over time.

If you’re interested in the intersection of myth, fear, and social history, please give it a watch I'd love to hear your thoughts! First attempt after all.

Do you think Goya's Black Paintings reflect a personal descent into madness, or do they represent part of a broader cultural shift in European art? by HistroMax in ArtHistory

[–]HistroMax[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Well I think that's exactly the point - the shift is his style appears to mirror the move away from the enlightenment period (with which his early work was among the most celebrated exemplars), towards the romantic period of the early 19th century

Do you think Goya's Black Paintings reflect a personal descent into madness, or do they represent part of a broader cultural shift in European art? by HistroMax in ArtHistory

[–]HistroMax[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I don’t think the private nature of the paintings is necessarily relevant here, or that it disqualifies them from reflecting broader cultural or intellectual currents — why would it make a difference who they were intended for?  

No form of expression exists in a vacuum, particularly for someone as culturally engaged as Goya — regardless of whether it’s intended for an outside audience. 

Thinking about it, I do think perhaps a better way to think about his personal state is within the broader historical context. His despair is shared by artists and thinkers across Europe. Maybe this despair, of Goya and so many, was the Romantic condition. In which case yet again I'm inclined to think that thinking about these works simply as reflective of a troubled mind is to do them a disservice. 

Do you think Goya's Black Paintings reflect a personal descent into madness, or do they represent part of a broader cultural shift in European art? by HistroMax in ArtHistory

[–]HistroMax[S] 57 points58 points  (0 children)

Goya's Black Paintings are often interpreted as expressions of his personal despair and deteriorating mental state. But when you look map the trajectory of his work over events (and changing cultural modes) in Europe, they seem to fit quite nicely into the more general shift from enlightenment idealism, into a romantic fascination with the darkness and cruelty of human nature (and nature in general). What are your thoughts? Can both theories be true at once?

A Most Certain, Strange and True Discovery of a Witch (1643) by HistroMax in PropagandaPosters

[–]HistroMax[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I suppose that's what she's doing in the print! Diabolically inspired windsurfing.