Yesterday, I told you the early part of the story about Biancabella. Today, I must relate the rest. When she came of age, Biancabella was betrothed to a prince. Now, this prince's stepmother (need I specify that she is wicked?) had intended for the prince to marry one of her daughters (need I specify that they are ugly?). The stepmother waited until the prince was called away to war, then ordered her servants to take Biancabella away and return with proof of having killed her. The servants, in an act of "mercy" (?), removed Biancabella's eyes and hands. Biancabella lived this way for many years until she grew so sad and desperate that she thought of taking her own life. At this point, her magical snake sister-mother-father reappeared, gave her back her eyes and hands, and took her back to the castle. The stepmother was thrown into a fiery furnace, and Biancabella lived happily ever after with a therapist on call 24 hours a day. Okay, I added the part about the therapist. But seriously. Would she not need some intense therapy?!
I called yesterday's canvas, "Biancabella, Flowers Growing Out of Her Hands." Today, I present "Biancabella, Her Eyes Stolen," which I then renamed "Sorrow."
I am so interested in the way that we frame acts of incredible violence and horror in fairy tales that I decided to literalize that with multiple "frames" around Biancabella. She is our point of focus, but we feel distant from her because we cannot meet her eyes or know her mind.
It is available
in my shop.
Love the blood spatter (or the suggestion of blood spatter & the harsh light creating the shadows of her hair--a light that would make anyone else squint. It suggests how distanced she is from the world, matching how distanced we the viewers are from her, a kind of double distance. Love it.
ReplyDeleteSo striking! Totally love the hair, the highlights and how the face is wonderfully framed. Great neck, too! Very cool. Creepy but kinda, not creepy? More sad, this one. Fantastic Day 2!
ReplyDelete