The Sleeping Beauty 1921

John Collier painted "The Sleeping Beauty" sometime between 1850 and 1934, using oil paint to bring this fairy tale scene to life. I wonder, what was it like for Collier to spend time with this sleeping figure? Suspended, like her, in his own world of dreams as he painted, thinking about the surface, how to convey this stillness. The details are incredible, aren't they? Look how smoothly he blended the colours on her face to capture light and shadow, then covered her bed in ornate textile. That red dress on the left, though, is where I see his hand most clearly – the folds and curves, the way the fabric falls. It feels like Collier is telling us something about the passage of time and the persistence of stories. Artists are always talking to each other, aren't they? And to us. Each brushstroke is a quiet conversation across centuries.