Sunday, August 11, 2013

The Little Mermaid


8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

"Far out in the ocean...There dwells a Sea King and his subjects..."  I love Hans Christian Andersen's story about a young mermaid who fell in love with a prince.  Here's a little history of the statue that I have painted here and I must say, it's pretty interesting in an odd way.  The statue was commissioned in 1909 and sits in Copenhagen's harbor.  It was moved a little farther out than its original positioning due to vandalism and to prevent tourists from climbing it.  On April 24, 1964, the mermaid's head was sawn off and stolen by what my research described as "politically motivated artists." SAY  WHAT?!  A new head was produced.  In 1998,  it was decapitated again, but the head was returned and re-attached.  This poor mermaid has had her share of trouble, but she is beautiful and she will always be special to me.

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