The Renaissance shifted monster-marking from grotesque bodies to readable facial expressions.

Evidence

Instead of relying on purple or black skin, canine heads, or pig faces to represent monstrosity, the portrayal of facial expressions became popular. The production of Passion plays and the publication of Renaissance writings on the Passion influenced the graphic representations on the canvas, seen in the torment on Christ’s face as well as the sinister and grotesque faces of the villains, who were often Jews and Muslims. During the Renaissance, Jews and Muslims continued to be presented as a related enemy that helped to constitute European identity—“the shadow of an ageless ghost.” — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 246

Categorization

• XREF: This is a craftsmanship detail in the manufacture of the monster: how the container (the villain face) got upgraded to carry more psychological projection.