The sweet and touching tale of Fleur and Blanchefleur 1922

Curator: This drawing by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, created around 1922, is entitled "The sweet and touching tale of Fleur and Blanchefleur". Editor: My first impression is one of simplistic charm. The flat planes of color and bold outlines remind me of a child's storybook. It’s lighthearted. Curator: Lighthearted, perhaps, but let's consider the symbology at play. Note how the twin infants, representing Fleur and Blanchefleur, hang like ripe fruit from a rose tree. Trees in general carry archetypal connections to fertility, growth, and genealogical lineage. Roses, of course, suggest themes of love and beauty, so their combined representation here hints at inherent prosperity and beauty linked to these infants' lives. Editor: Yes, the rose tree acting as a kind of genealogical 'tree of life' is interesting. However, what strikes me more is how the upper register contrasts structurally with the scene below. The upper part is ornamental and allegorical, composed in curving lines, whereas the lower one relies on firmer contours to depict the two children and the wooden horse. It's less like a single, unified artwork than two sketches juxtaposed. Curator: I'm intrigued by that distinction in registers. The top might symbolize their fated birth and childhood, while the second could depict the formative years. Their embrace suggests strong familial or even romantic bonds and the red hearts confirm their love. And there is the stylized "EFB", in a ribbon underneath each scene, the initials of the artist. Do you find any hidden meanings? Editor: I can appreciate the image’s formal qualities such as line, symmetry, and contrast to build its thematic clarity. In the upper panel, the mirror symmetry lends to an almost heraldic feeling. It stabilizes the entire image and complements the theme of twins and love. The overall symmetry of this line drawing strikes me as simple but very pleasing. Curator: So we see Brickdale skillfully layering romantic themes within what might first appear as a simple design, exploring love, fate, and childhood. Editor: Exactly! And for me, the overall composition, with its flat blocks of color, and playful simplicity—almost like a child’s rendering—adds to the enduring appeal of this intimate portrayal of young romance and innocence.