Klimt's Beauty and the Beast

"I rise to meet you
As your trust dissolves to shame
Oh, this innocence has turned and lost its way
Retrace the footprints
Off the path from which I came
I'm the beast in you, the beast in me"
- Passenger, Wicked Man's Rest

Contest entry for where the theme was fairy tales. After lack of inspiration I chose Beauty and the Beast.

The story: you know it thanks to Disney, so I won't bore you with a summary. Artistically, I tried to go for more of a Klimt feel, because Klimt's dames at least as much as I could remember (believe me children, it is not fun not having a stable internet connection). Not really all that pleased with the end result but then again it was the first time I attempted a visual nouveau. Might give it a redraw after a pick up my texbooks again.

Still, what I enjoyed most about Klimt's works in particular and why I decided to go with it is because all he did was very two-faced. In Ode to Joy at least, the subtle ways in which he takes the issue of the passage of time and how it effects the human body and mind and just how thin the line between beauty and ugliness is. In Beauty and the Beast however the line between the two is very clear, but as the ending suggests sometimes ugliness hides something truly beautiful. Begs the question, however, what can sometimes lie under beauty.

A few textures from CG Textures, several hours in photoshop.

REBLOG ON TUMBLR: soon to come
artwork © Jessica P. (2013)