Weird Aesthetics, pt. 1: Lovecraft and Visual Art
A series studying Lovecraft's attitude towards aesthetics and the way his own aesthetics are embodied in his writings.
H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) has inspired generations of authors and artists through his original fiction and verse, but what was his own attitude towards the visual arts? Was Lovecraft as receptive to the pictorial as he was to the narrative? This article will assess Lovecraft’s attitude towards visual art, primarily through three key stories “Pickman’s Model” (1926), “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926) and “At the Mountains of Madness” (1931), as well as some others.
Before we look at Lovecraft’s responses to, and uses of, fine art in his writing, it is worth considering his attitude towards literary craft. In his landmark statement regarding horror literature, “The Supernatural in Literature” (1925-7), Lovecraft displays his erudition regarding horror and Gothic literature. He writes of the supreme level of supernatural literature as being attuned to the racial sensibilities of its audience, having been shaped over ages by the environment and racial memory. He criticises those who neglect atmosphere through use of inappropriately prosaic prose or brisk pacing. The great creator combines feeling, craft, originality and an understanding of the sensibilities of his audience to produce outstanding work that evokes realms of infinite horror, strangeness or immensity of time and space. This formula is one which (appropriately tailored) Lovecraft applied to architecture and fine art, as well as to prose and verse.