Mephistopheles and Margaretta
Mephistopheles and Margaretta | |
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Mephistopheles and Margaretta, with the reverse visible in a mirror | |
Medium | Sycamore wood |
Subject | Characters from Goethe's Faust |
Dimensions | 177.2 cm (69.8 in) |
Location | Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, India |
Mephistopheles and Margaretta is a 19th-century wooden double sculpture featuring two images carved on opposite sides; it portrays two characters from German playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1808 play Faust. The obverse depicts the demon Mephistopheles, and the reverse depicts a woman, Margaretta (Margaret, or Gretchen). A mirror placed behind the sculpture allows both sides to be seen simultaneously.
Background
The statue reflects the themes of good and evil in Goethe's Faust.[1] In the play, Faust is frustrated with his life and attempts suicide. He calls for Satan's help, and the demon Mephistopheles, an agent of Satan, responds. Faust is told that Mephistopheles will serve him as long as he lives, but after his death, Faust would forfeit his soul and become enslaved forever.[2] He agrees, making a deal with the Devil, and as one of his requests for magic, Mephistopheles seduces a young woman named Gretchen (Margaretta) for Faust. She is impregnated by Faust and gives birth to his bastard son. Upon realizing the evil, Gretchen drowns her child and is subsequently imprisoned on charges of murder. She is ultimately hanged, but is granted entry into heaven; Faust is also saved by God because of Gretchen's pleadings.[2] Another literary text where the figures of Margaretta and Mephistopheles feature is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, which was written between 1928 and 1940, but not published until 1966.[3]
Sculpture
The 19th-century sculpture was created by an unknown French sculptor, carved into a block of sycamore wood.[4] The obverse is a depiction of a confident and arrogant Mephistopheles,[5] wearing a hood and boots, and with a smirk on his face.[6] On the reverse side, Gretchen is depicted with her head bowed,[5] appearing as a simple girl with downcast eyes.[1][6]
The statue is carved from a single block of wood and is exhibited with a mirror placed behind it, allowing viewers to observe both sides at the same time.[7] The dichotomy of good and evil is emphasized by the innocence of the female figure, a demure woman holding a prayer book in her hand, contrasting with the depiction of evil exemplified by Mephistopheles.[1][4]
One of the major attractions of the Museum's European Art Section, the dimensions of the statue is 177.2 cm, and it was presumably created in the late 19th century, in France. The sculpture represents the thin line that exists between the duplicity of good and evil as represented by Margaretta and Mephistopheles, respectively. The male image stands proud in a hooded cloak, heeled boots and has a long, gaunt face with a cynical smile, while Margaretta is shown as a shy, girl with a prayer book in her hand, and downcast eyes, lost in love.[8]
The statue was acquired by the former Prime Minister of Hyderabad Salar Jung I; he acquired it in 1876 during his travels in France. It is one of the most photographed images of the museum.[3] The sculpture now resides in the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, India.[7] The museum is one of the most visited in the country, and claims one million visitors annually.[7]
While the identity of the sculptor of this romantic sculpture remains unknown, the choice of such a German archetype for a French statue reveals how post-1870, there was a surging interest in things German and topics in countries like France, etc.[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "The Double Statue of Mephistopheles & Margaretta : Salar Jung Museum". The Heritage Lab. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ a b Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1985). Faust, part I (Rev. ed.). New York: Bantam Books. pp. 1–433. ISBN 978-0-553-21348-5. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ a b c Lab, The Heritage (18 December 2016). "The Double Statue of Mephistopheles & Margaretta : Salar Jung Museum". The Heritage Lab. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ a b Sripada, Krishna (31 August 2017). "An all-season destination". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ a b Stewart, Jessica (6 November 2019). "This 19th-Century "Double Sculpture" Tells a Tale of Two Different People on Back and Front". My Modern Met. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ a b Haseeb, Ahssanuddin (27 February 2019). "A Virtual Tour With A Difference Of 'Salarjung Museum' In Hyderabad". Hyderabad News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ a b c Srinivas, Susheela (2 March 2019). "Mystical masterpieces". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Salar Jung Museum (2014). Treasures : Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad. National Culture Fund. New Delhi. ISBN 978-93-83098-26-2. OCLC 871215664.
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External links
- Video of Mephistopheles and Margaretta Sculpture
- v
- t
- e
- Historia von D. Johann Fausten (1587 chapbook)
- Doctor Faustus (1592 play)
- Cenodoxus (1602, play)
- Goethe's Faust (1808 play)
- "Bearskin"
- "Daniel and the Devil"
- Melmoth the Wanderer (1820)
- "The Devil and Tom Walker" (1824)
- St. John's Eve (1830)
- Auriol (1844)
- Chasse-galerie (1892)
- The Sorrows of Satan (1896)
- Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician (1898)
- The Master and Margarita (1929–1940)
- Mephisto (1936)
- "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1937)
- None but Lucifer (1939)
- Doktor Faustus (1947)
- The Devil in Velvet (1951)
- The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (1954)
- Gimmicks Three (1956)
- The Devil to Pay in the Backlands (1956)
- That Hell-Bound Train (1958)
- For a Breath I Tarry (1966)
- The Damnation Game (1986)
- Eric (1990)
- The Devil's Own Work (1991)
- Jack Faust (1997)
- Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (2009)
- The Last Faust (2019)
- Gretchen (1879)
- Damn Yankees (1955)
- Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1955)
- The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon (1965)
- Temptation (1986)
- Faust (1816, Spohr)
- La damnation de Faust (1846, Berlioz)
- Faust (1859, Gounod)
- Mefistofele (1868, Boito)
- Le petit Faust (1869, Hervé)
- Faust and Marguerite (1855, Lutz)
- Faust up to Date (1888, Lutz)
- Doktor Faust (1916–1925, Busoni)
- Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights (1938)
- The Rake's Progress (1951, Stravinsky)
- Reuben, Reuben (1955)
- Historia von D. Johann Fausten (1994)
- Faustus, the Last Night (2006)
- Gretchen am Spinnrade (1814, Schubert)
- Faust Overture (1840, Wagner)
- Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges' 2nd movement "Quasi-Faust" (1847, Alkan)
- Scenes from Goethe's Faust (1853, Schumann)
- Part II of Symphony No. 8 (1906–07, Mahler)
- Faust Symphony (1854–1857, Liszt)
- Mephisto Waltzes (Liszt)
- Gothic Symphony (Brian)
- Bagatelle sans tonalité (Liszt)
Albums |
|
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Songs |
|
- The Laboratory of Mephistopheles (1897)
- Faust and Marguerite (1900)
- The Damnation of Faust (1903)
- Faust and Marguerite (1904)
- The Student of Prague (1913)
- Rapsodia satanica (1915)
- The Student of Prague (1926)
- Faust (1926)
- The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
- Alias Nick Beal (1949)
- The Legend of Faust (1949)
- Beauty and the Devil (1950)
- Marguerite de la nuit (1955)
- Damn Yankees (1958)
- Faust (1960)
- Bedazzled (1967)
- Doctor Faustus (1967)
- El extraño caso del doctor Fausto (1969)
- Mephisto (1981)
- Doctor Faustus (1982)
- Oh, God! You Devil (1984)
- Crossroads (1986)
- Faust (1994)
- Bedazzled (2000)
- Faust: Love of the Damned (2000)
- Fausto 5.0 (2001)
- I Was a Teenage Faust (2002)
- Shortcut to Happiness (2007)
- Goat Story (2008)
- Faust (2011)
- The Last Faust (2019)
Episodes |
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Other |
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- Damn Yankees (1955)
- Randy Newman's Faust (1995)
- Success! (1993)
- Faust (2003)
- Disco Inferno (2004)
- Gods' Man (1929)
- Faust (manga) (1950)
- Doctor Faustus (comics) (1968)
- Faust (comics) (1987)
- Frau Faust (2014)
- Mephistopheles and Margaretta
- Paintings
- Category