Definition:
Generally speaking, an archetype is any original model upon which later copies are based. In art, the
term is normally used to refer to some object or idea which has been "stripped down" - all
accidental qualities
have been removed, leaving us only with the very
essence
of that thing. These essential characteristics are supposed to be the most general and universal,
allowing the one instance of the object or idea to be representative and fundamental for all
particular instances of it.
According to C.G. Jung, archetypes are a part of the collective unconscious of the entire human race - as such, when they appear in a work of art, they demonstrate that the artist has managed to tap into that collective unconscious. According to Jung:
The pimordial image or archetype is a figure, whether it be a daemon, man or process, that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is freely manifested. Essentially, therefore, it is a mythological figure. If we subject these images to a closer examination, we discover them to be formulated resultants of countless typical experiences of our ancestors. They are, as it were, the psychic residue of numberless experiences of the same type.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
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