What is the Grotesque in art?

The grotesque refers to artistic imagery combining human, animal, and fantastical elements in unsettling, often exaggerated ways. Originating from ornamental Roman decorations discovered in underground ‘grottoes,’ the term came to describe hybrid creatures, distorted bodies, and imagery that transgresses natural categories. The grotesque provokes mixed reactions of fascination and repulsion, humor and horror. Surrealists embraced grotesque imagery as a way to access unconscious content and challenge bourgeois propriety. Contemporary Dark Art and Pop Surrealism frequently employ grotesque elements, combining cute and disturbing, beautiful and monstrous in unsettling combinations.