Thematic Images for Ancient Precursors to the Carnivalesque Carnival

Thematic Images for Early Carnival & Carnivalesque 

(13th - 18th Centuries)

"Folies de Carnaval" (Insanities of Carnival, Paris 18th c.) is a prime example of Bakhtin's concept of Carnivalesque: a transgressive mode that subverts and liberates the assumptions of the dominant style or atmosphere through humor and chaos. Thus, (a) carnival can represent a social institution that degrades or “uncrowns” the higher functions of thought, speech, and the soul by translating them into the grotesque body, which serves to renew society and the world; (b) carnival can be a moment when everything is permitted, when rank  is abolished through social inversion of hierarchy (i.e., "The World Turned Upside Down") and everyone is equal.

The Carnival's Carnivalesque Scenes and Characters 

Thematic Images for Carnival & Carnivalesque

(19th Century) 

"On Pleasure Bent" (a Street Scene in Madrid during the Carnival by Robert Walker Macbeth, 1896). An example of the "collective pleasure" theme.