The Pearl of the Elephant, from The Kingdom of the Pearl 

Editor: Here we have "The Pearl of the Elephant, from The Kingdom of the Pearl", by Edmund Dulac, made with watercolour and coloured pencil. I'm immediately struck by its otherworldly feel – the luminous white elephant, the almost dreamlike figures. What's your interpretation of this piece? Curator: Oh, I find it quite magical! It feels like stepping into a forgotten myth, doesn't it? Dulac was brilliant at weaving that sense of fantasy. For me, it's the colors that sing. The earth tones, that deep, inviting sepia. And the narrative. Do you see it as a straightforward depiction of Eastern folklore or something else? Editor: I'm drawn to the elegance in his lines. But what's really captivating is the narrative element: this juxtaposition between divinity, symbolized by that elephant, and vulnerability with that human. What do you think he wants to convey? Curator: Perhaps Dulac’s playing with ideas of sacredness and vulnerability as one. It almost feels like a shared dream state between all the characters on a threshold of worlds. Consider how our relationship to nature can become so delicate. I wonder if his intention was less about portraying the "other," and more about using it as a looking glass toward our understanding the potential within ourselves? Editor: I hadn't considered the "dream state" – that adds a whole new layer of interpretation. Thinking about our relationship to nature that makes sense given how Dulac uses symbolism in a lot of his pieces. I initially viewed it more from a detached point. Curator: Yes, it opens new possibilities, no? Each look unveils a new dream… or, dare I say, nightmare! Perhaps this holds a piece for each of us within.