The image of sphinx in western art

In this study which examined the reflection and chronological development of the sphinx image in Western art, the starting point of myth and intercultural relations as well as comments on representation were shown. In this study, which is examined in three main sections, the first section deals with the etymological development of the word, especially the sphinx types in Mesopotamia and the surrounding cultures and the areas of use and symbolism of the image. The second part is mentioned in the mythology of the sphinx image and the interpretations of Oedipus and Sphinx myths in other disciplines, especially in philosophy and literature and the reflections of these interpretations in Western painting. Following the second chapter, the beliefs, especially Christianity, and the sphinxes or their counterparts in single religions were compared. The relation of the creatures in the Bible with sphinxes is presented with the opinions of different researchers. The reflection of the development of image in the art of painting has been shown in the third chapter. The change of the image of the Oedipus in the Middle Ages and later periods and the adaptation of the Sphinx to this development are chronologically processed. Then, the entry points, usage areas and formal features of the sphinx image which entered the art of painting with Renaissance have been defined. In later periods of the continent Europe, the point of view of the sphinx and especially the Mannerist period and after the statues and paintings were interpreted. In the 17th century, the possible symbolic meanings of the sphinx used in Flemish art have been shown. In the 18th century, it was inevitable that the image of the sphinx and its myth would overlap with both Neoclassicism and later Symbolism. From the second half of the 18th century, especially in the light of Pompeii and equivalent archaeological finds, Neoclassicism has rapidly increased in continental Europe and its reflections in the art of painting, particularly the Egyptian sphinx, have been studied. The relationship between the symbolism and the sphinx, which dominated the second half of the nineteenth century is interpreted and prior to the art of painting, literature, poetry, such as the areas of the symbolism in the illustrations of the flow of inspiration in the examples of these disciplines are shown. In the last part, besides the individual symbolism in the 20th century, the sphinx is now completely equated with the female image and the examination of the major examples related to this tendency has been discussed.