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Nyarlathotep
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Published: 2014-08-24 16:31:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 12603; Favourites: 455; Downloads: 82
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Description
"And at the last from inner Egypt cameThe strange dark One to whom the fellahs bowed;
Silent and lean and cryptically proud..."
Nyarlathotep is one of the Lovecraftian gods, but where most of them are distant unspeakable horrors, Nyarlathotep is a very close one. He walks the Earth in human form, freely mixing magic, cults and science, and though he has a thousand guises he is strongly connected with Ancient Egypt.
I have mixed Ancient Egyptian paraphernalia, both well-known and very arcane, with modern trinkets and Lovecraftian references. For example, among the more recognizable canopic jars and ushebti, there is a statue of Seth in pharaonic garb, a throwback to the old suppressed cult which Nyarlathotep would certainly remember. Every visible book title is something obviously mentioned in Lovecraft's writing, but there also is a framed photograph of two men in parkas labeled "Dyer, Lake"- not legible at this size. Virtually everything is a reference; and if something is not - who knows what depths it had sprung from?
(Limited edition prints available. Drop me a note if interested.)
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Comments: 114
It's a specific figurine with relevance to the Lovecraft theme, not just a random anime girl.
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He looks like something out of a William S Burroughs novel XD
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H. P. Lovecraft had been writing about him (and other things featured here) before Burroughs learned to write.
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Well that's a good question
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Nyarlathotep, technically, is one. Not sure if he is anyone's, though...
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Nyarlathotep is by far the most dangerous of the Great Old Ones: he walks among men as a man !
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Indeed he is. He is also openly sadistic, where most of the Great Old Ones are just eldritch and indifferent towards humans.
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Unless the human(s) blunder into their lair or summon them unprepared or attack them (kill worshippers, destroy a temple, burn books...). I may have in my favorites a pic of a Dark Young as seen from the window of a passing car. The worse than formless horror appears to be about to attack ! Heard that any of the Thousand Young move very fast, so I do not know if a car can outrun one !
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Featuredβ¦Β they come in familiar shapes sometimes Β
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If you take a really good look at the figure on the right of that jar on the shelf behind Nyarlathotep's head, it looks very similar to Haruhi Suzumiya
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What do you mean, "similar"? It *is* Haruhi Suzumiya!
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Beautiful work! Congratulations on the DD!
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Thank You for this interesting and unusual, extraordinary figure! Despite its dark essence of Nyarlathotep looks here very passionate person. And the atmosphere of the horror genre are you in this picture was diluted humor. Figure Haruhi Suzumiya, Rubik's cube, a glass with modern writing pens, pencils I noticed immediately.
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Thank you for the compliment!
Well, I wanted some props to anchor him in modernity, but also suggest a long history. He's got mostly Egyptian and Lovecraftian paraphernalia, but also things with origins strewn over the years.
The pens and pencils were my drawing tools.
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Good evening! Β Thank You for what You were so kind told me about your picture! Well, I just shared with You the impressions of a miracle on Your picture. And my compliment to You was fair under the law. I was very impressed and pleasantly surprised that a grown man was able so stunningly beautiful to draw a picture with colored pencils. I would never have been able to draw.
I'm sorry that I'm late with the answer. I could not resist and added Your picture to my favorites. Yes and in my Favorites I've cleaned up the mess and even my new picture I drew. Thank You very much for Your work! And the portrait of Nyarlathotep Welcome to My favorites in my collection of "fantasy Style"! Β
Oh and I forgot to say, I happen to know that you are from Israel. In Israel, in Jerusalem, lives my friend, the poet Isaac Nurenberg.Β
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I see Haruhi Suzumiya!Β Ha ha!Β What is she doing there?
The fact that there is a Rubik's cube there is kind of freaky. I'm participating in Flash Fiction Month, and we occasionally have challenges that we can choose to participate in. One of those was the Lovecraft Challenge on the 23rd...and I used a Rubik's cube as an important plot device!
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Of course she is there! Who else would an ancient horror like Nyarlathotep be a fan of?
Fun story with the Rubik cube. I added one to this picture to indicate the time period, since Lovecraft originally put the character in the modern world, and I wanted some things to show that it isn't even Lovecraft's era, but a more modern one.
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Wow, so unique and original, well deserved DD!
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A true pleasure, Eugene ... you're most welcome
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Thank you for that too.
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Love it! I've been reading some Lovecraft lately, and I enjoy all of the little details
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You can actually spot a lot of specific trinkets from Lovecraft's stories there. One could play Lovecraft/Egypt bingo with this picture.
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For sure! I'll revisit it once I finish the collection of stories I have to see what else I can spot
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This is a great idea for a "modern day" Nyarlathotep. It's been a while since I have read Lovecraft. Maybe I'll dust off a ancient tome tonight.
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Happy to be an inspiration.
Lovecraft had actually envisioned Nyarlathotep as something "modern" although ancient, walking among people as one of them and doing weird things. I only brought the character from Lovecraft's period to the modern one, which is logical if you think of it.
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Naturally. To be honest, I tend to skip over Lovercraft inspired art anymore. There's just so much. However, I think yours really captures the feel of the character. Nyarlathotep was a subtle and cunning character. He was always behind the scenes. My favorite story was the Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, and even there, he was more of the smirkingΒ villain stringing Randolph Carter along.
I think the other gods and beings were more heavy handed. Sure, they were hidden and sneaky in there own ways, but when moved you knew it. Nyarlathotep was the type to act and change without you even knowing the world was different.
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Well, that's what you get for inspiring a whole genre of literature. There is too much of it.
And yes, most of Lovecraft's pantheon of ancient and mighty aliens are not even interested in humans. They aren't exactly heavy-handed - they are merely uninterested in the humanity and would only notice it if it becomes any kind of a nuisance to them, then they would reach for a flyswatter. They aren't malicious per se, just uncaring, but they would step on you if you get in their way and never even know that. (Of course, you are more likely to be in the way of those aliens who actually want to colonize the planet, or their intelligent weapons. But even a random trespasser could wreak great havoc without even meaning it.)
Nyarlathotep, on the other hand, does take notice and is a malicious manipulator. Which makes him both less and more terrifying than, say, Cthulhu.
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True, true.
Didn't they say that Lovecraft was inspired heavily by Sumerian/Babylonian mythology? The gods in those stories were definitely indifferent to mankind.Β
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It's a running theme in most 1st generation mythologies. Gods and spirits are at best indifferent, and if you are less lucky then they might notice you and toy with you. If they actually do get a grudge, nothing is going to save you - but even their benevolent attention often brings disastrous results, because they are, essentially, alien and too powerful for your health. This is true for spirits of all kinds, even the lesser ones, but gods, being more powerful, can screw you up much worse. They screw up each other too, if they can.
You can get a glimpse of that worldview in "Neko no ongaeshi", where cats from Neko-no-kuni are the substitute fairies, and the protagonist accidentally receives their disastrous generosity. This example is best, because in it, it is the familiar that turns dangerous - and it comes out of the blue and cannot be avoided.
This goes on in Sumerian/Babylonian myth, all right, but it also is very evident in Hellenic myth,Β as well as Roman, though that was getting into a 2nd generation religion and so even gods were getting well-behaved and committing to rules. Egyptian cults, I think, got 2nd generation very early, so there is some of that left in core myths but not very much in the general religion. Christianity and other 3rd generation religions lost it nearly entirely. But a lot of lingering folk cults and fairy tales still show the same world view.
Lovecraft did not really borrow myths, but he clearly took this same concept and set it to eleven, converting it to a full primeval terror infiniti.
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This is so deliciously detailed! I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan, but I can definitely appreciate what you've done here. Congrats on the DD!
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Thanks!
If you are not big on Lovecraft, you can always play "Where's Waldo" with the Egyptian trinkets.
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