Gargoyles are carved stone grotesque figures (fantastic or mythical creatures) common in Gothic architecture, used for decoration but especially as decorative parts of a waterspout to direct rainwater away from the building. They are a common feature of Gothic cathedrals, and the tradition has continued in some more modern churches and universities as well. My alma mater is festooned with gargoyles–my attention was drawn to them when I was an undergrad and an RA who was an avid photographer was systematically documenting all the many gargoyles just on the Quad alone (the oldest dorm). Here’s one example:
John Taylor Arms, a well known American etcher from the early 20th century whose work I have show twice before, was fascinated by Gothic architecture, and did etchings of many European cathedrals, including some 10-15 of their gargoyles.
“I call it the ‘Gargoyle Series’ and it is devoted to those queer, grim grotesques, often humorous, sometimes tragic, and always entirely fascinating, which constitute such telling decorative accents on all the great Gothic buildings of France.”
His wife added “. . . they possess a strange harsh beauty of their own and are peculiarly characteristic of one aspect of the age from which they sprang. The builders of that day, spurred on by the consecrated ecstacy of religious fervor to create miracles of loveliness, were human also, and into these imaginative chimeras went such normal emotions as hate and humour, sadness and satire.”
The gargoyle and his quarry (1920, etching, Notre Dame de Paris cathedral)
The detail is exquisite; you can see how the centuries old stone of the gargoyle is pitted with age.