Grotesque (fr. Grotesque, literally - "bizarre", "comic"; Italian grottesco - "bizarre", Italian grotta - "grotto", "cave") - a kind of artistic image, comically or tragicomically generalizing and sharpening life relationships through a bizarre and contrasting combination of the real and the fantastic, believability and caricature, hyperbole and alogism. May also be inherent in artistic thinking In conversation, the word grotesque usually means “strange,” “fantastic,” “eccentric,” or “ugly,” and thus is often used to describe strange or distorted forms, such as masks at carnival or gargoyles at cathedrals. The concept of a grotesque can refer to a specific type of ornament, which combines graphic and decorative motives. Such combinations, as a rule, have a whimsical or fantastic character.