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 Mythologies:
March 2007
The Glass Slipper
Paintings Based on Cinderella
Cinderella: popular fairy tale embodying a classic folk tale
myth-element of
unjust oppression/triumphant reward.
The story:
Kind and good Cinderella is rescued from her wretched life of toil,
first by
her Fairy Godmother, then the Handsome Prince. Her temporal
transformation
into enviable beauty has a short shelf life: a midnight curfew. In a
rushed
exit from the ball, she leaves behind the glass slipper, used by the
Handsome Prince to locate her. And, of course, they live happily ever
after.
In this body of work each painting is inspired by moments from
the story
based on a children’s book that features a variety of illustrations from
different texts and times. The text is a translation from the original
Charles Perrault French version. This work is not intended to
illustrate the
story, but to impart a certain emotional tone found in the story.
Sometimes
I have used the formal compositional elements from the illustrations,
even
copying, then obliterating some part of an illustration. Other
times, a word
or phrase from the story led the way to the painting.
I wanted the pieces to depict what I see as the main elements of the
story:
longing and promise, transformation through magic, goodness rewarded,
abandonment, then a rescue, ephemeral beauty and, of course, happily
ever
after. The titles are quotes from the text.
Fain Hancock
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