:: Triptych Analysis ::

The Princess

Because the Princess is the first in the triptych, and was not part of the 15-hour exam, she was partially used as a trial to see if the proposed idea and composition structure would work well. Thus less symbolism is present in her composition. Before starting I found Mucha’s ‘Dance’ and digitally silhouetted out the skin to see if the method would work at all. Pleased with the result, I confidently proceeded to use this technique in my further paintings. The style in which I have drawn the characters’ hair is inspired by the very stylised and exaggerated hair in the artwork for the animated series ‘Revolutionary Girl Utena.’ I decided to use gold acrylic and gel pen on the work so as to highlight the archaic preciousness of the ‘cards’ I am trying to suggest, but also because I am particularly inspired by Gustav Klimt’s use of gold leaf in his artwork. Flowers have always been used as symbols in art and in my triptych it is the flowers that give the most away concerning the card’s subject. The Princess’s feminine pose suggests a refined daintiness and youthful beauty about her – and yet the level of her beauty and jewels contradicts her assumed virtue and modesty. Indications of her looseness include her dress – exposing her slender shoulders, the choker (chokers having often been used as a sign of prostitution, such as in Edouard Manet’s ‘Olympia,’ and which also emphasizes her bare shoulders,) and also the prominent use of the colour red – red having always been associated with fiery passion (as are red roses,) but also with blood, danger and arrogance. The castle in the panel behind her is largely in keeping with the façade of stereotypes, and is inspired by Bavarian Castles and also Edmund Dulac’s illustrations. It’s meaning is to highlight the fact that if the groom is a Prince, the bride must either be of royal birth herself, or a high-ranking aristocrat. The castle represents the handsome dowry that must be present for the wedding to be at all possible. Although in retrospect I would have appreciated putting far more symbolism into the piece I am still pleased with the general outcome – especially in the movement of the hair, painting of the gown and the successful contrast of blues with the warm reds, browns and golds between the back panel and the foreground.


The Prince

‘The Prince’ was the first out of the two remaining cards of the triptych that were painted within the 15 hours of the exam. Because of this I made many initial sketches, and my level of planning means that there is a lot more symbolism and thought in the piece when compared to ‘The Princess.’ I decided to have him be caught in the stereotypically heroic pose of being on his rearing horse. I gave him a dramatic, deep red cape not only as an echo of the beautiful use of material in Alphonse Mucha’s artwork, but also so that the cloak acts as a direct visual link to flowing torrents of blood. I wanted to include this mass movement of red, along with the blood staining the lilies so as to suggest the true intent of the Prince – and what kind of man he really is. What could be a pleasant depiction of the heir to the throne nobly sat upon his steed – such as in John Bauer’s illustration, has instead turned into the image of the Prince upon his mighty war horse riding off to a bloody battle of which his proud and commanding pose suggests he is the instigator of. This is even more enforced by the back panel. In keeping with ‘The Princess,’ and also by having a back panel the subject of which is so distant that it cannot be confused with the foreground, I decided to depict another building – specifically a castle-like structure so as to immediately connect it as being the property of the royal family. I especially enjoyed the first panel of William Hogarth’s ‘Marriage à-la-mode,’ and how once the paintings on the wall are recognized, the meaning of the scene changes to one far more sinister. I used this idea in ‘The Prince,’ by making the back panel a copy of Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel’s ‘Prise de la Bastille,’ an 18th century painting that depicts the storming of the Bastille in France. The Bastille was a medieval fortress and prison, and represented the royal authority in the centre of Paris. The storming of it was the flashpoint of the French Revolution, and became the icon of the French Republic. This is perhaps my favourite aspect of my painting, as without the knowledge of the 18th century painting by Houel, it merely seems the picturesque scene of an afternoon at the royal castle. However with the knowledge of it’s direct links to the French Revolution, one can see the smoke and fire. In this way, the back panel acts as an omen for the future – as the Prince fights expensive, bloody wars there is the dire threat of revolution accumulating – or alternatively the back panel could act as a window showing what is currently happening at his property whilst he is away fighting personal battles. Other symbolism within the piece includes that of the white lilies – lilies having connotations of majesty and purity but also of death. The Prince’s clothes are partially inspired by portraits of royalty, such as Makovsky Alexander II of Russia, as well as Ryoko Ikeda’s character designs for her series ‘The Rose of Versailles.’ ‘The Prince’ is perhaps my favourite of the triptych, and I am especially pleased with the cloak and back panel – both of which I think are very successful.


The Happy Ever After

I decided to conclude my triptych with the union of the two characters from the previous cards, as I felt the inclusion of a new character would needlessly detract away from the subject of my triptych – the use of social titles in fairytales. The concept and phrase, ‘Happily Ever After’ is another cliché I thought interesting to explore. After all, having developed the characters of my previous ‘façades to virtue and chivalry’ – what could the future for them together possibly hold?
The curtains in the previous parts to the triptych have been subject to wind – blowing the opposite way to that in the foreground of the picture. However there is a sense of stillness about the final part. I believe I have achieved this by having the hair move only upwards and not in any particular direction (as if the air were coming from below them,) and also having the curtains neatly parted – showing how the marriage has supposedly restrained and finalised the lives of the young couple. I wanted to portray within ‘The Happily Ever After’ the characteristics previously exhibited by the characters. Thus it is the Princess who is breaking convention and is reaching up to kiss the Prince, whereas he barely looks at her – his hands hanging loosely around her waist. The plants used are orange blossom, a symbol of eternal love, marriage and fruitfulness – whereas the ivy, like tarot cards, has several different meanings. On the one hand the way it is an evergreen plant has come to hold connotations of long-lasting marriage as well as long life. However, the fact that ivy is often poisonous and also grows across solid foundations and breaks the brick apart with it’s deep roots also suggests destruction of something whose sturdy walls have survived for years and years (perhaps akin to the monarchy,) being broken apart by a new growth. The back panel contains various omens to the two figure’s future. The gate has been seemingly opened to a beautifully snowy garden, however in truth cold iron gates open unto a cold and barren landscape where nothing will bloom or bear fruit. The ravens dotted about the gate act as traditional symbols of death and ill fortune.


Conclusion

Overall I have been very pleased with the outcomes of my exam pieces and the preparatory piece ‘The Princess’ which completes the triptych. I found the narrative construction and symbolism immensely enjoyable to create, especially in the two back panels of ‘The Prince’ and ‘The Happily Ever After,’ of which I am not only pleased with symbolically but also with the physical paintings themselves. I believe that the use of hair was particularly effective as well as the Prince’s cloak. If I were able to improve the paintings at all, however, I would try to put more emphasis on the flora. I encountered certain problems with making the flowers stand out from the background, whilst trying to avoid the stark contrast between the white flowers and dark background making them seem sparse and floating (such as in the bottom section of ‘The Princess.’) I believe this to be partially successful under the horse in ‘The Prince,’ however the ivy and orange blossom in ‘The Happily Ever After’ is still particularly difficult to decipher due to the ivy being naturally fairly dark in colour. Aside from that, my biggest struggle that I did not manage to overcome was in the titles. I found it very difficult to find a colour that would stand out enough from the red curtains, and did not manage to find a suitable alternative to the pale blue – especially as the two had to match ‘The Princess’ to an extent. In a way this set example made decision making easier for me as the previous parts of the triptych had already set certain rules regarding composition and colour – but it also limited me in certain aspects (such as the necessity of the Prince’s hair to be dark brown and the background to also be – leading to his hair being more difficult to see than I would have liked.) Despite this I am still very pleased with the triptych, and believe that they work well as a set – lending to each other’s narratives and achieving an ideal sense of majesty and fantasy whilst still possessing a far darker and sinister purpose and reading.

I am very pleased with how this project has progressed, and have enjoyed learning about the different ways in which fairytales are illustrated, and how darker elements can be successfully integrated within a seemingly harmless piece of art so as to increase the breadth of understanding and create a vivid message to the viewer (such as in William Hogarth’s work.) I decided to display my final pieces in a false book so as to suggest that they have been long lost and are archaic, precious objects with such great significance that they were hidden away from sight. I found the cards dwarfed in the emptiness of the box, and so for this reason and also so as to enforce the idea that they are but part of a set of Tarot-esque cards, I built up a false deck behind them and designed the back of the cards. The back design itself features two nude female elfin creatures, whose skins are significantly not masked out. Everything about their design is made simple in contrast with the Prince and Princess – they have no extravagant costumes, and the cards are merely shaded in sepia, and feature no gold. At the same time they have their backs turned from the viewer – so as to avoid boasting their bodies.  However they are not masked - the presence of their faces showing that through their simplicity and modesty they have identity, as opposed to bearing themselves down with false smiles and rich adornments – presenting themselves to the world as the title they were born into. The torn book in the centre of the two women represents the fairytale literally falling apart. I decided to include the ring in the box as a found object to generate the viewer’s curiosity. The fact that it is tarnished, and revealed to be but coated in silver very much sums up the subject of the triptych – how something which seemed so pure and cherishable turned out to be not quite as beautiful as it seemed. The ring could also represent the Princess’s beauty and passion fading, or just the passion between the two quickly wearing away.
If I were to expand my project I fashion that I may explore other characters – such as the villain who is so often the older woman, or the interesting theme of curses and transformations. However I fancy that I would still focus primarily on the stock characters of the Prince and Princess – having so enjoyed my studies of their representation by different artists, within this project. Deep and moralistic symbolism through fairytales is something I have very much liked exploring, and my perception of ‘fairytale’ characters has certainly been altered through my further understanding of their purpose.