The Invisible Donut


Above is the engraving as published by S. Lwoff, with the exception of the color fill, of course. The generally agreed upon face is very interesting, and as it is a combination of two quite symmetrical pentagonal shapes. Rather than  another obese Venus, this engraving  reminds me more of the Russian "babushkas".



 





The Rotund Figure

On the left, we see the standard interpretation of this La Marche engraving. It is supposed to be the classic obese Venus ( in clothes ).
On the right, we have one of my own impressions from the same engraving. BTW, if the figure at left is a that of a rotund woman, then why are there some specks on the face, which look like a man's stubble? This could be another of the numerous cases of "shaved" faces from La Marche. The main face is too lean for the supposedly obese body.

The Coiled Serpent

Sometimes we don't see a dough-nut because of the hole..

The Venus draws attention away from the serpent, and it escapes undetected. The serpent's 3-D like head protrudes towards the viewer. It may look a "little" scary to some people. I'm not sure if anyone ever picked out this serpent before me (1985). This serpent is the dough-nut around the hole... It is an intelligent serpent, with beady eyes and drooping eyelids. It has a human head crown..

Pinocchio

A smaller Pinocchio like face appears at the back of the head of the first profile ... Pinocchio's head is enclosed in a transparent helmet. His orientation puts him into sync with the booted feet, in contrast with the main face. Since there are the boots, and the transparent helmet held by angular attachments to the bulbous, symmetric cloak or habit - could the cloak portray a suit of armor or a spacesuit? There is yet another vista available here. Imagine the bulbous suit as a steep hill. Is that a castle at the hilltop?






The castle is accented in red. It crowns two heads. What is its symbolism here?  Is there competition between the two heads (for the castle), or are they allied forces? Is the human head that of a king, whose castle it once was?




The Scholar

In turning the image 180 degrees, the scholar's head becomes the main motif. The head is given by the nucleus of the 'Invisible Donut' engraving. The scholar also has a Pinocchio nose. Funny, but there also seems to be a plane doing a loop above his cranium.

Praying Figure?

In Poses, there is a similar figure, inasmuch that it too directs its prayers heavenwards. Repetition of the same motif in other engravings would make it that much more real. The figure of 'Pinocchio' seems to have acquired an ethereal body showing through the praying figure, as if this scene were one of those 'marriage certificates', discussed in literature.



Mug Shots


  Top