“The Weight of the Head and Heart.” A painting by German artist Michael Hutter.
 
German artist Michael Hutter‘s fantasy-based paintings are distinctly reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch. Filled with imagery associated with the occult or perhaps demons doing their time in purgatory, Hutter’s work is utterly mesmerizing.

Sex, death, erotica and science fiction scenarios run amock in Hutter’s work which the artist says is inspired by the “logic of dreams.” He has also been inspired by the fictional city of “Carcosa,” the mystical port dreamed up by Ambrose Bierce in his 1886 short story “An Inhabitant of Carcosa.” In 1895 author Robert W. Chambers published a book full of horror short stories called The King in Yellow which referenced Carcosa and other aspects of Bierce’s work. Later H.P. Lovecraft would incorporate Carcosa into his various Cthulhu mythos tales. Even George R. R. Martin got in on the supernatural fun when he named a city Carcosa (noted on an intricate map) in his book series A Song of Ice and Fire. Now that you have some perspective on all that, and how his art is part of this cool Carcosa continuum, here’s more from Hutter on the basis for his surreal, often sexually charged artwork: 

“I don’t care for reality or the probability that something is true, only for its potential to stimulate my thought. In my opinion, the truth is somehow an illusion anyway. I mix that with my obsession, passions, desires, and fears and choke what happens in the abyss of my personality back on the surface.”

Hutter has also applied his considerable artistic skills to photography using digital manipulation to bring some of his chilling witches and demon-like characters to life. The images that follow are NSFW.
 

“The Cuckold.”
 

“Alien Sex.”
 
More after the jump…