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A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS

A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS
Second Edition
by

J. E. CIRLOT
Translated from the Spanish by

JACK SAGE
Foreword by Herbert Read

LONDON

Translated from the Spanish
DICCIONARIO DE SIMBOLOS TRADICIONALES

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001. English translation © Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 1962 Second edition 1971 All rightsreserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data available. ISBN 0–415–03649–6 (Print Edition)ISBN 0-203-13375-7 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-18928-0 (Glassbook Format)

CONTENTS

FOREWORD INTRODUCTION DICTIONARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PRINCIPAL SOURCES ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

page ix xi 1

387 389 401

PLATES

Between pages 104 and 105 I. Roman sculpture incorporating symbolic motifs II. Modesto Cuixart. Painting, 1958 III. Portal of the church of San Pablo del Campo,Barcelona IV. Silver chalice, from Ardagh, Co. Longford V. Tenth-century monument at Clonmacnois VI. Chinese version of the cosmic dragon VII. A renaissance relief, from the Doge’s Palace at Venice VIII. Capitals, monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos IX. Early Christian Symbol—thirteenth-century gravestone X. Gothic fountain—Casa del Arcediano, Barcelona XI. Giorgione, The Storm XII. Roman statue of theTwins XIII. Gothic Miniature of The Apparition of the Holy Grail XIV. Bosch, Garden of Delights XV. Portal of the Romanesque cathedral at Clonfert, Co. Galway XVI. Chinese symbol of heaven Between pages 296 and 297 XVII. Archetypal image of the Archangel XVIII. Celtic candelabra incorporating symbolic horse and solar wheel XIX. Antonio Tapies. A painting, 1958 XX. Door to the sanctuary of thechurch of San Plácido, Madrid XXI. Libra and other signs of the Zodiac XXII. Gothic miniature of ship and whale XXIII. ‘Bird-woman’—relief in Barcelona cathedral XXIV. Roman painting of twin-tailed siren XXV. Greek sphinx, fifth century B.C. XXVI. Jacob’s dream (after an old engraving) XXVII. Heraldic supporters—College of San Gregorio, Valladolid XXVIII. Tetramorph. Romanesque painting

PLATESviii
XXIX. Roman composition of Adam and Eve XXX. The sixth sign of the Zodiac XXXI. Detail of a painting by Pedro Berruguete, c. 1500 XXXII. Circular representation of the signs of the Zodiac

FOREWORD

IN THE INTRODUCTION to this volume Señor Cirlot shows his wide and learned conception of the subject-matter of this dictionary, and the only task left to me is to present the author himself,who has been familiar to me for some years as the leading protagonist of a very vital group of painters and poets in Barcelona. Juan Eduardo Cirlot was born in Barcelona in 1916, and after matriculating from the College of the Jesuits there, studied music. From 1943 onwards he was active as a poet, and published four volumes of verse between 1946 and 1953. Meanwhile the group of painters andpoets already mentioned had been fo rmed (Dau al Set), and Cirlot became its leading theoretician. For historical or political reasons, Spain had been slow to develop a contemporary movement in the arts comparable to those in other European countries; its greatest artists, Picasso and Miró, had identified themselves with the School of Paris. But now a vigorous and independent ‘School of Barcelona’ wasto emerge, with Antonio Tapies and Modesto Cuixart as its outstanding representatives. In a series of books and brochures Cirlot not only presented the individual artists of this group, but also instructed the Spanish public in the history and theoretical foundations of the modern movement as a whole. In the course of this critical activity Señor Cirlot inevitably became aware of the ‘symbolist...