Tuesday, May 12, 2009  Whence Cometh the Ghouls?  The madness
and monstrosity lay in the figures in the foreground- for
Pickman's morbid art was pre-eminently one of demoniac
portraiture. These figures were seldom completely human, but
often approached humanity in varying degree. Most of the bodies,
while roughly bipedal, had a forward slumping, and a vaguely
canine cast. The texture of the majority was a kind of
unpleasant rubberiness. Ugh! I can see them now! Their
occupations - well, don't ask me to be too precise. They were
usually feeding- I won't say on what. They were sometimes shown
in groups in cemeteries or underground passages, and often
appeared to be in battle over their prey- or rather, their
treasure-trove. And what damnable expressiveness Pickman
sometimes gave the sightless faces of this charnel booty!
Occasionally the things were shown leaping through open windows
at night, or squatting on the chests of sleepers, worrying at
their throats. One canvas showed a ring of them baying about a
hang