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It's #mermay!!!

I'm falling a bit behind and it won't get any easier for me to be on time with my drawings this week, but I had lots of fun today with was originally yesterday's prompt: Mucha.
I LOVE the amazing art of Czech Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha and he's one of my biggest inspirations since I was a kid.
(My prompt list: ejderha-arts.deviantart.com/st… )
I decided to use Mucha's famous theatrical posters for Sarah Bernhardt as a starting point, telling the story of Loreley with some key images the way Mucha did with his lithographs.

The Legend of Loreley:
"Once there lived nymphs around the Rhine but when people began to populate the banks of the river they were chased away. Only one nymph stayed behind because she couldn't bid farewell to the Rhine. She settled on the high rock where she could see the whole river. With her beauty and her beautiful sad singing while combing her long golden hair, she unwittingly distracted shipmen, causing them to crash their ships on the rocks.
Many lost their lives here.
One day a young knight wanted to see the girl from close by, so he decided to travel to the rock with his squire, but, like so many before him, he was enchanted by her singing. He died when his boat hit the rocks.
However, the squire managed to save himself and brought the sad news to the young knight's father. Full of anger and grief he instructed his men to throw the nymph off the rock, so that she would drown like all her victims. When the nymph saw the men approaching, she threw her necklace into the water and sang one last song. Then large waves emerged from the Rhine that carried her away, whereupon the nymph disappeared forever."

Now bear with me please, because I'm taking some artistic license here with my drawing concerning the legend of Loreley. I'm fully aware that she should be in fact a nymph (legs), not a mermaid (fishtail).
But Loreley is also mistakenly called a siren, since sirens are known in Greek mythology as dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
And somewhere through history and art sirens (birdy) and mermaids (fishy) also get confused about the singing and damnation part and it seems that they've ended up as interchangeable beings.
(The actual Loreley is a 132 meter high rock in Germany along bank of the river Rhine in the Rhine Gorge where at this point the river makes a sharp turn, creating a strong current. Many ships have crashed at the Loreley.

A5 paper (180 g/m2)
Graphite pencils
Staedtler pigment liners

(Time: 6:05 )

14-05-2018

Description

It's #mermay!!!

I'm falling a bit behind and it won't get any easier for me to be on time with my drawings this week, but I had lots of fun today with was originally yesterday's prompt: Mucha.
I LOVE the amazing art of Czech Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha and he's one of my biggest inspirations since I was a kid.
(My prompt list: ejderha-arts.deviantart.com/st… )
I decided to use Mucha's famous theatrical posters for Sarah Bernhardt as a starting point, telling the story of Loreley with some key images the way Mucha did with his lithographs.

The Legend of Loreley:
"Once there lived nymphs around the Rhine but when people began to populate the banks of the river they were chased away. Only one nymph stayed behind because she couldn't bid farewell to the Rhine. She settled on the high rock where she could see the whole river. With her beauty and her beautiful sad singing while combing her long golden hair, she unwittingly distracted shipmen, causing them to crash their ships on the rocks.
Many lost their lives here.
One day a young knight wanted to see the girl from close by, so he decided to travel to the rock with his squire, but, like so many before him, he was enchanted by her singing. He died when his boat hit the rocks.
However, the squire managed to save himself and brought the sad news to the young knight's father. Full of anger and grief he instructed his men to throw the nymph off the rock, so that she would drown like all her victims. When the nymph saw the men approaching, she threw her necklace into the water and sang one last song. Then large waves emerged from the Rhine that carried her away, whereupon the nymph disappeared forever."

Now bear with me please, because I'm taking some artistic license here with my drawing concerning the legend of Loreley. I'm fully aware that she should be in fact a nymph (legs), not a mermaid (fishtail).
But Loreley is also mistakenly called a siren, since sirens are known in Greek mythology as dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
And somewhere through history and art sirens (birdy) and mermaids (fishy) also get confused about the singing and damnation part and it seems that they've ended up as interchangeable beings.
(The actual Loreley is a 132 meter high rock in Germany along bank of the river Rhine in the Rhine Gorge where at this point the river makes a sharp turn, creating a strong current. Many ships have crashed at the Loreley.

A5 paper (180 g/m2)
Graphite pencils
Staedtler pigment liners

(Time: 6:05 )

14-05-2018