Fantasy Art @mythical-art - Tumblr Blog

'Take the fair face of woman, and gently suspending, with butterflies, flowers, and jewels attending, thus your fairy is made of most beautiful things', Charles Ede

by Sophie Gengembre Anderson (1869, pre-raphaelitism, oil on canvas)

Hercules wasn't allowed to kill her. The Ceryneian Hind belonged to the goddess Artemis and his task was to capture her alive. Simon Frisius shows the decisive moment: Hercules gripping the deer's golden antlers as she struggles to break free. Sometimes strength isn't about defeating an enemy - it's about knowing when not to. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

James Gillray turned Napoleon into a phoenix but not a heroic one. In "Apotheosis of the Corsican Phoenix" (1808), the emperor rises above a globe marked with conquered lands, crowned and winged, while bayonets fill the ground below. The familiar symbol of rebirth becomes a warning: every defeat only seems to bring him back again. Gillray didn't mock the myth. He used it to sharpen his satire. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

Perseus has already won. Peter Paul Rubens paints what comes next. Medusa's face still looks alive, while snakes twist across the ground around her. Rubens worked with animal painter Frans Snyders, giving the reptiles, spiders and other creatures an extraordinary level of detail that makes the myth feel almost real. The contrast is striking: everything around Medusa is full of movement, while her face remains completely still. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

Louis Fairfax Muckley's "Wasps' Nest" is more than a nature study. A delicate nest hangs beside blooming purple flowers, while the wasps are painted with remarkable detail, their striped bodies and transparent wings caught in mid-flight. Created as an illustration for "Country Ways and Country Days", the image reflects a time when nature was closely tied to folklore. The nest was more than an insect's home - it could also be seen as a sign or omen, giving this quiet scene a sense of mystery. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

This isn't a unicorn - at least not according to the book. In "Monstrorum Historiae" (1642), naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi described the Camphurch as a real animal from the Molucca Islands. With the body of a dog, a single horn, a lion's mane and bird-like claws, it was presented as genuine natural history, not myth. The detailed engraving makes the creature look surprisingly believable. Surrounded by ordinary grass, flowers and a small fish, the impossible is treated as if it belongs in the real world. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

Benjamin Rabier's illustration of "The Wolf and the Lamb" captures the moment before everything changes. A stream separates the two animals, but it offers no real protection. Based on Jean de La Fontaine's famous 1668 fable, the image reminds us that the wolf never needed a good reason - only power. Rabier's simple composition makes the story's message just as clear today as it was centuries ago. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

What does a phoenix look like without flames? Kamisaka Sekka imagined it in white. In "White Phoenix", the legendary bird spreads its wings across the page, its pale feathers broken only by a small red crest and delicate green eye-like markings in its long tail. Created for Sekka's famous "Momoyogusa" ("Flowers of a Hundred Worlds"), the print replaces bright color with quiet elegance. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

Matthias Trentsensky's "Bees and Bee-Keeping" was published in Vienna in 1845 as part of a practical farming manual. It labels every detail with care: the queen, the workers, the drones and different types of hives, all drawn to help beekeepers understand their craft. Yet the print feels like more than a diagram. Each bee is given the same careful attention, turning a page of instruction into something quietly beautiful. It reminds us that even the most practical illustrations can become works of art. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

In 1808, Thomas Rowlandson turned Napoleon into a giant spider. In "The Corsican Spider in His Web", the web stretches across Europe while different countries appear as trapped flies. Only Britain remains outside the web, refusing to be caught. Published just after Napoleon's invasion of Spain, the print wasn't simply a joke. It was political commentary aimed at the biggest story of the day. More than two hundred years later, the image still works. A spider, a web and a few trapped flies are enough to tell the whole story. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com

In European stories, dragons are usually monsters waiting for a hero. In Chinese tradition, the dragon is something very different. It symbolizes power, wisdom and good fortune and is closely connected with rain and the natural world. This dragon at Haw Par Villa in Singapore follows that tradition. It winds through painted clouds with antlers, long whiskers and shimmering scales, looking more like a guardian than a threat. Opened in 1937 by the Aw brothers, the creators of Tiger Balm, Haw Par Villa was designed to bring Chinese legends and moral stories to life. These dragons were never meant to be defeated. They were meant to be respected. Quelle: meisterdrucke.com