Royal Trap 2021

Michael Cheval painted ‘Royal Trap’ sometime after his birth in 1966, using oils. It's giving me fairytale vibes, but twisted. The colors are rich, like an old tapestry, focusing on royal blue and deep autumnal colors. This lady, she’s dressed to impress, but what’s with that crown? It looks like a bear trap! I wonder, was Cheval thinking about power when he made this? About how being at the top can also mean being caged? The way she poses, so elegant, but her eyes… they tell a different story. Maybe she doesn’t even know she’s trapped. It's like Cheval is inviting us to question what we see, to dig a little deeper into the story behind the image. That old mill in the background, the detail in her dress—it all makes me think of artists like Magritte, playing with reality, inviting us into a world that's both familiar and totally strange. That's painting for you, a constant conversation across time.