"Lorsque parut l'aube aux doigts de rose..."

[Alexandra Tyng]

"When the dawn seemed to the fingers (petals?) of the rose???????"
Help, please translate, Marina! I don't know French and I'm curious to know the title.

I love this composition. You've painted the three little figures with your usual combination of intensity, wisdom and cherubic innocence. The idea of using a baby or small child as a vehicle for imparting ideas and archetypes is brilliant. I also like the way you have conveyed a feeling (for me) of time confusion. Is that Greek lettering on the torn-off posters? That and the graffiti on the cement seem to imply a time in the distant future. There is a bleakness to the world as if a great civilization has been wiped out, but there is a new possibility of beginning.

Even if you have only a limited time to work, it seems that you are producing a string of masterpieces.

[Richard Jones]

Marina,

This is really beautiful. I love the composition and the figures. Excellent.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Ah what a treat to see this new post! Beautiful as always and I especially like the nifty trompe d'oleil with your signature on it.

[Laurel Alanna McBrine]

Stunning! I would love to know how you planned this painting and what reference materials and methods you used. Very interesting and appealing work.

[Julie Deane]

Lovely! Bouguereau also came to mind, like David said. I think it's the children and their clothing and pose, the choice of colors. And the beautifully painted skin tones.

Please share what the title means - it's obviously a symbolic piece.

[Marina Dieul]

Thank you Alex, Richard, Enzie , Laurel and Julie !

Well, I think I have to explain a bit...
The title comes from Homer. When I was a child I read several times The Odyssey, and I remember how much I loved that every day was begining by " When the child of the morning, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared... " I think it was repeated 162 times, and like all children I liked repetitions ( it's very reassuring, I think...) To make it shorter, I kept only " When rosy-fingered dawn appeared..." which is long enough for a title although my favourite was ( sorry I didn't find a translation so it's my words ) " When rosy-fingered dawn went out of her cradle of mist...)

Well, this is for the title. This painting is once again one where differents parts of me join.
It was quite a long process, and it appeared to me evident only at the end.

So, during my chilhood, ( beside beeing influenced by italian renaissance ) I was influenced by greek mythology ( which is certainely reponsible for my taste for allegories ) and I quite early discovered also modern greek culture. I never learned ancient greek, although I speak quite well modern greek. This is certainly the reason of the feeling of time confusion that Alex mentions.

I began this piece at the begining of the summer, I didn't really knew what direction it would take, but I had already the idea of the wall, and 3 figures. I organized severall photo sessions, and these 3 figures come from 2 different sessions, but same place, same hour ( so almost same light ). The child who raises her arm and the one on our right is the same child. I also used a combination of 3 photos for the 2 on the left.

Before I left for holidays, I had an harmonious composition of 3 figures on a wall. That was not enough. I knew I wanted something contemporary, and I was thinking to some torn-off posters... I was looking in the streets if I could find some nice exemples, but couldn't find some neither in Montreal, nor in France. Then I had an opportunity to spend 2 weeks in Greece ( first time since 10 years !) and in Athens ( which is quite a dirty city) I found lot of beautiful exemples so the idea of greek lettering was totally obvious.
The landscape of the background is from the village I know since my childhood. I couldn't make some plain-air painting this year because I tried to come back with not drown daughters, but I painted this landscape many times before ( since I was 8 years old, I think !)
So all these elements finished to find their place in this sort of puzzle. It's a combination of planning, chance,intuitions and recollections.

[Tom Edgerton]

Marina,

Your work is so conceptually unique, my jaw never fails to drop when you post a new piece.

Truly inspiring!

[Alexandra Tyng]

Originally Posted by Marina Dieul

The title comes from Homer. . . . " When rosy-fingered dawn appeared..."

Oho! I was translating "appeared" as "seemed." In the far reaches of the back of my mind, I was thinking of "rose" "finger" "dawn" but assumed it could not be a reference to the Odyssey because of the sentence structure! Maybe it's time to learn some French!

Thank you for explaining. It's so interesting to hear your process. And thanks also for posting that photo of the wall in Athens. What a great idea altogether, and brilliantly executed.

[Carlos Ygoa]

Beautiful piece, Marina! We have missed your work here for a while. Concept, composition and execution--you went through all three stages beautifully. And the little girl on the right is very familiar....
You are going to win everything again with this one!

[SB Wang]

Marina:
Have you watched the movie "The Barbarian Invasion"?