Tristan and Isolde

In the Arthurian legend of Tristan and Isolde these star-crossed lovers fell helplessly in love with each other when they accidentally drank a love potion while playing chess. Fate never favored them and they were destined for misery. When they were parted Isolde did well enough as the wife of the king, but Tristan fell into insanity.

In “Song of Solomon” I used the flight of the lovers to relate the exalted feeling of being in love. Now these lovers suffer the fall. The scattered chess game represents upset plans. The love potion spills from it’s cup. The subject was reactive to my own situation at the time, in which I was dealing with the loss of a relationship which, realistically, could not have been expected to work.

 

Return to "Tristan and Isolde."

 

(Paintings that feature people in flight or falling are "Song of Solomon," "Tristan and Isolde," "Icarus Descending," "Rapture," and "Ascension.")