Roger and Angelica 1910

Odilon Redon captured Roger and Angelica with pastels, conjuring a world of myth and deep emotion. Angelica, chained and vulnerable, awaits her fate, while Roger descends, a beacon of chivalry. This scene, plucked from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, echoes the timeless motif of maiden and rescuer. We see echoes in Perseus rescuing Andromeda, or Saint George saving the princess – tales resonating with primal fears and hopes. Angelica's vulnerability speaks to our subconscious anxieties, the ever-present threat to innocence. The dragon, shrouded in darkness, is more than a beast; it is the embodiment of chaos, of the untamed id. Roger's descent becomes a heroic act, not just of physical bravery, but of psychic liberation. He is not just saving Angelica, but confronting our deepest shadows. The cyclical dance of threat and deliverance plays out across millennia, each iteration reshaped by culture and circumstance, yet retaining its potent emotional core.