One print within “The Bizarre & The Beautiful: Fantasy as Visual Pleasure in Renaissance and Baroque,” the recently opened exhibition at the Davison Art Center (DAC), features a dragon devouring the face of a man in a single bite. At first glance, we see a battle between human and beast. But viewed closely, another half-body emerges from the murdered pile, blood dripping as he twists elegantly into his fellow victim. This violent scene—from a 16th century engraving by Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius—embodies the marriage of strangeness and beauty lying at the heart of this show.

This exhibition of late 15th to late 17th-century etchings, engravings, woodcuts, and books explores the fantastical imagery of Renaissance and Baroque Europe, and highlights the period’s main sources of inspiration: the visual and the literary. In both categories, ancient and contemporary influences held equal importance to Renaissance and Baroque artists. Literary sources ranged from classics by Homer and Ovid or the Old Testament, to contemporary scientific literature, which became especially important in the Baroque period. This blending of sources often results in strange yet idyllically beautiful situations. Imaginary creatures can be seen inhabiting realistic, contemporary architectural space; or a scientific figure study morphs into an almost Surrealist sculpture of classical limbs.

These extravagantly odd and meticulously detailed images—usually of mythical creatures, gods, and saints—may have little to do with the life of the contemporary viewer. But Assistant Professor of Art History Nadja Aksamija,, who organized the exhibition, draws comparisons to modern practices. Like “Star Wars” or “Harry Potter” in our time, she says, the prints make use of references to the real culture of the day in order to imagine a fantasy world. At the same time, the abundance of religious stories and imagery proves how differently art functioned in the period.

“It points to a different mindset than that of our secular society,” Aksamija said of the art’s references to religion, classical mythology, and Baroque-era science. “These were all woven into the tapestry of how people saw the world.”

More specifically, these prints show us how Renaissance and Baroque artists saw their past. The free blend of references, both literary and artistic, both real and fantastical, demonstrate how “history and myth co-existed without contradiction” in the period, according to the exhibition notes. These powerful twin influences held equal importance in the Renaissance and Baroque mindset—which may be why artists were able to make such bizarre combinations so beautiful.

Other pieces show how the combination of visual and literary sources influenced depictions of their own time. In a portrait of Cosimo I de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, by Niccola Della Casa, the Grand Duke’s ceremonial armor includes both fantastical ornament and scenes from the labors of Hercules. This was clearly meant to associate the Duke’s power with that of Hercules, a hero who defeated mythological monsters. At the same time, it linked him with the just rule of imperial Rome.

With works by artists like Agostino Carracci and Albrecht Durer, this exhibition is an impressive introduction to the DAC’s collection, something Aksamija had in mind when she began organizing the exhibition. Having been at the University for only two years, she wanted to explore the center’s collections to become better acquainted with their contents. She was intrigued by some rare grotesque prints, and the concept for the exhibition grew organically from there.

Those grotesques, reflecting a revival of interest during the Renaissance in this classical Roman decorative tradition, form an interesting part of the exhibition. In the prints on display, the viewer sees symmetrical architectural patterns within which fantastical elements—human, vegetal, and otherwise—go wild. According to Aksamija, this interplay between the classically beautiful, the bizarre, and the fantastical is fundamental to the art on display.

“It’s about creating an impossible world that seems believable,” she said.