Swagger and swish in the Middle Ages
“The Fantasy of the Middle Ages: An Epic Journey through Imaginary Medieval Worlds,” by Larisa Grollemond and Bryan C. Keene (Getty Publications, 134 pp, $29.95) by Bondo Wyszpolski The Middle Ages, or the Medieval period, fits roughly between 500 and 1500 AD, or from ancient Rome to the Renaissance. If you’re thinking 1200, 1300, you’re on safe ground, and can picture castles and crusades, knights in rusty or shining armor, damsels in distress, various plagues and Monty Python prototypes. “Saint George and the Dragon” (about 1450–1455), by Master of Guillebert de Mets (Flemish, active about 1410–50). Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink on parchment. Getty MuseumPicking up the lavender-tinted catalogue for the exhibition of the same name that runs through Sept. 11 at the Getty Center, it’s possible to assume that the focus will be on how our perception of the Middle Ages has inspired the arts of the modern era, from paintings to films and romance novels. However, it quickly becomes apparent that this is something different, largely a gay and lesbian revisionist history of that long-ago era. As the authors, Larisa Grollemond (she/her) and Bryan C. Keene (he/él/they/elle) make sure…
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