Art with History: The Tattoo Phenomenon

Taisiya Milic , Head of the Specialized Curriculum Development Department of the International Association of Permanent Makeup Professionals, Member of the European Research Association of Educational Psychologists Science International School of Practical Pedagogy (ISPP)

Art with history (continued, start here )

ancient era

In ancient times, the art of tattooing developed among the Greeks, Slavs, Germans, Gauls. In the Slavic tribes, special seals were used to obtain a pattern on the skin. They were sculpted from clay, the necessary pattern was applied to them and fired in an oven, after that they were heated and applied to the place on the skin where the tattoo was supposed to be. Most often, such patterns covered a large or even the entire surface of the body. It was considered necessary in magical rituals. And the appointment of a tattoo among the ancient Greeks and Romans, in contrast to the peaceful informational purposes of the ancient tribes, was by no means harmless: the Greeks put tattoos on the skin of enemy spies so that they could be easily identified, and the Romans marked bandits in this way.

There was another interesting purpose for tattoos: non-poor people could afford them, but drawings were used only in extreme cases when they wanted to convey a particularly secret message in order to be sure that no one would intercept it or even know about its existence. The bottom line was this: they shaved the head of one of their slaves and applied a tattoo in the form of the required message text. After that, they waited several months until the hair grew back to hide the fact of the tattoo, and sent the slave to the addressee of the message. He, in turn, shaved him again and learned secret information. Obviously, with this way of transmitting a message, it is almost impossible for someone to accidentally stumble upon it.

It was difficult for the development of tattoo art during the spread of Christianity around the world. Tattoo, being part of pagan rites, was mercilessly eradicated by Christianity. The Old Testament explicitly condemns "cutting oneself." And in 787 AD, Pope Hadrian imposed a strict ban on everything related to tattooing, including applying and wearing.

Middle Ages (Europe)

After a long exile, the tattoo made itself known in 1691, and William Dampier helped her in this, who, traveling through the southern seas, found and brought with him the “painted prince”. Giolo, that was the name of the native, whose rumors quickly reached even the English royal family, was covered in drawings, like a painting, which was undoubtedly a curiosity in tattoo-free Europe. The “Painted Prince” got an appointment at the English royal court, but he did not have a chance to be shown to all of Europe: he died of smallpox shortly after this legendary reception.

The next time the tattoo was seriously remembered was when the New Zealand chief Hongi appeared. It was all covered with a pattern of the traditional moko ornament, consisting of a bizarre interweaving of straight and spiral lines, as well as raised bumps and hollows, which also formed patterns.

rebirth

The revival of the tattoo in Europe began almost a hundred years after the appearance of the "painted prince" - in 1771, thanks to the not yet eaten Captain Cook. From his first voyage to the shores of Australia, he brought the Great Omai, diligently decorated by his fellow tribesmen. This turned out to be a significant impetus to the fact that a significant part of the British became infatuated with the tattoo. The nobility did not immediately dare to become addicted to a fashionable hobby, but soon after the sailors and ordinary citizens, many overcame their prejudices and made themselves a long-awaited tattoo. It was Cook who gave the world the very word "tattoo", which comes from the Tahitian tattoo, meaning "drawing".

The next step in the development of tattoo art was indirectly helped by Christianity and Islam. Despite the fact that both religions were very negative about tattooing, it turned out that the pilgrims of these particular beliefs contributed to the development of this art. Returning home, the pilgrim had to show a tattoo made by Coptic priests - the only unconditional proof that he had visited the holy land.

The tattoos were different, most were just crosses, but there were also drawings in the form of Jesus and St. Peter. The drawings were kept on wooden boards. The tattooing process was very painful, but they agreed to it, since it was the only indisputable proof of visiting a fertile place.

Later, many artisans in France and Germany put on their hands the signs of their workshops. For example, butchers depicted two axes and a bull's head on top.

The tattoo received a new appointment in the era of the Crusades. The knights made tattoos in the form of a cross on the forehead or on the arm. Here the practical application of such a tattoo played a role: the knight could no longer change his faith.

After that, the Inquisition declared the tattoo a mockery and took it into service. And until the middle of the 17th century, tattoos became the exclusive privilege of criminals, to whom the Inquisition "painted" them. Further, less dangerous personalities were also tattooed: pickpockets, prostitutes, card scammers. Punishment by tattooing was common in European states until about the 17th century. In addition to punishment, the drawing on the body was supposed to identify the criminals.

At the end of the 17th century, the tradition of tattooing for any offense remained only in the army - to maintain discipline. Deserters were punished, and later - soldiers who were seriously guilty during the service. During the late Middle Ages, along with many other ways to inflict pain, tattooing became torture.

The material was first published in Permanent No. 2(6)/2017