The sweet and touching tale of Fleur and Blanchefleur 1922

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale made "The sweet and touching tale of Fleur and Blanchefleur" with what looks like watercolour or gouache, and the marks are really graphic and clean, like she’s embracing the flatness of the page. The colour palette is muted and kind of chalky, which gives it a fairy-tale feel. The linework really defines the shapes, and while there's some shading, it's minimal. Look at how she's used the white of the page – it’s like another colour in her palette. The flatness almost makes it feel like a stage set. That central figure with the dramatic beard and outstretched hands almost breaks the fourth wall. It reminds me a little of Aubrey Beardsley with it's focus on line, and the medieval subject matter is so Pre-Raphaelite, it makes you think about the ongoing conversations artists have across time. I love that art lets you make up your own mind.