COVE

A woman from "The Fisherman and his Soul" plays a small piece in an important message that is conveyed throughout the story. She has beauty, power, and a gravitating personality. The woman makes your eyes go directly toward her when you look at the image. You can see her holding her skirt up and her feet just moving. The illustration takes up the entire page. It is filled with vibrant colors, such as pink, blue, purple, red, and green. In this specific image, it illustrates the moment that the woman was dancing. You can see the pure joy she has on her face. It provides a visual representation when the readers are reading the story. 

In the story, the dancing girl represents a happy and uplifting spirit that is passed on to the viewers. The dancing girl "laughed while she danced and their laughter is as clear as the laughter of the water. She feeds the peacocks her dances for their pleasure" (Wilde). The goal of the dancing is to feel good, to brighten up the dark days of those who surround you. Just by looking at this image, you can feel a sense of happiness. It puts a smile on your face. It makes you want to better someone's day. In fact, it almost makes you want to dance! 

This illustration from Nadejen is certainly an Art Deco style of art. As you can see, the illustration has sleek figures, bold geometric shapes, and symmetrical, which is a part of the Art Deco style (Art Deco). The trunk of the palm trees is a great example. They are elongated. The bark is symmetrical and has a repetitive design. The flowers at the bottom of the image are bold geometric shapes. They are also repeated all over the grass. The illustration also includes other styles of art, such as fauvism. Fauvism is perfectly fitted here because, “Color could project a mood and establish a structure within the work of art without having to be true to the natural world” (Fauvism Movement Overview). 

To be honest, the entire illustration stands out to me. At first, I was drawn to the woman dancing. However, as you continue to look around, you see all sorts of things that are eye-catching. You can see the details in the trees, the number of flowers, the peacock, and the bush behind it. The aspects of the illustration are memorable because they are not considered normal. For example, the woman has a blueish-colored skin. In real life, no one has blue skin. Nonetheless, it allows us to remember the image for years to come. Another example is the color of the sky. In the image, the sky is colored yellow and orange. Again, in real life, it is not quite that color. Since things are not colored realistically or up to society’s standards, it adds much more depth to the image. It moves our mind away from reality and into a fantasy story, which is exactly what “The Fisherman and his Soul” is.  

Although there are countless words to describe the illustration regarding the woman dancing in the grass, one that keeps reoccurring is the word “vibrant.” As you can imagine, the colors of the illustration stick out and those colors are vibrant. They are not black and white. Another couple of words that come to mind is clearly the title of the story, “The Fisherman and his Soul.” A couple of other words that can be used to describe this illustration include fantasy, dancing, power, woman, and delicate.  

Next week, I would like to learn and understand Nadejen’s thought process. I would be curious to see why she chose the colors she did, why she thought that this moment was worth illustrating, and those sorts of things. I think finding the answers would help viewers understand the illustration further in-depth as well. I would also be interested in learning more about her background as an artist because that would also add to the explanation of these illustrations.  

Works Cited 

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, October 24). Art deco. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Deco 

Fauvism Movement Overview. The Art Story. (n.d.). https://www.theartstory.org/movement/fauvism/

Wilde, O. (n.d.). The Fisherman and his soul. The Fisherman and His Soul - A Fairy Tale by Oscar Wilde (from A House of Pomegranates). https://artpassions.net/wilde/fisherman.html