Alone 

Edmund Dulac painted ‘Alone’ with watercolors in the early twentieth century. Note the solitary figure atop a peak, cape billowing, standing defiant against a sky filled with strange omens. This motif of the lone figure, battling the elements, echoes across art history. From Caspar David Friedrich’s ‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog’ to countless Romantic heroes, we see man dwarfed by nature, yet determined. The cape here, however, takes on a life of its own, almost like wings, reminiscent of the Greek goddess Nike, symbolizing victory and aspiration. Consider how the clouds above echo the form of a dragon. Such mythical beasts are deeply ingrained in our collective subconscious, representing chaos and the unknown. The emotional power in ‘Alone’ lies in this tension between the individual's resolve and the overwhelming forces of fate. A powerful engagement with the viewer at a primal level. The symbol continues to resurface through time.