The representation of Witches in the arts: a reading from Umberto Eco's "History of Ugliness". Railson da Silva Barboza

Abstract

The work was the result of a postgraduate course conclusion work in Art History, which aimed to talk about Art and the representations of Ugliness in Art in the light of Umberto Eco. We are based on the work of the aforementioned author entitled “Storia della Bruttezza”, where the representations of ugliness in various periods are explained by the historical, artistic and philosophical perspective. In this article, we will talk in particular about the representation of the witch in artistic representations, especially in paintings, through aesthetic characteristics that designate her condition, aiming to relate her image to the malignant and repulsive figure. Thus, from a literature review, we try to expose some artistic representations of witches in the arts and their main characteristics.