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Daily Deviation

July 26, 2012
Witches and Queens - Ikuhara's 3 Mothers by *mementomoryo has a fantastic use of line, colour and movement that really draws the eye.
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Witches and Queens - Ikuhara's 3 Mothers

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"The eldest of the three is named Mater Lachrymarum, Our Lady of Tears... Her eyes are sweet and subtle, wild and sleepy, by turns; oftentimes rising to the clouds, oftentimes challenging the heavens. She wears a diadem round her head. And I knew by childish memories that she could go abroad upon the winds, when she heard the sobbing of litanies or the thundering of organs, and when she beheld the mustering of summer clouds.

The second sister is called Mater Suspiriorum - Our Lady of Sighs. She never scales the clouds, nor walks abroad upon the winds... And her eyes, if they were ever seen, would be neither sweet nor subtle; no man could read their story; they would be found filled with perishing dreams, and with wrecks of forgotten delirium. But she raises not her eyes; her head, on which sits a dilapidated turban, droops for ever, for ever fastens on the dust.

But the third sister, who is also the youngest -! Hush, whisper whilst we talk of her! Her kingdom is not large, or else no flesh should live; but within that kingdom all power is hers... But this youngest sister moves with incalculable motions, bounding, and with tiger`s leaps. She carries no key; for, though coming rarely amongst men, she storms all doors at which she is permitted to enter at all. And her name is Mater Tenebrarum - Our Lady of Darkness."


- Thomas De Quincey, "Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow", 1845.

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Holy shit, I cannot believe this is finally done. I slaved over it for three days straight, hardly sleeping. This, ladies and gents, is a psychological info dump in painting form. The colors are a little too bold or washed out in parts; I did what I could with the scan. :/

As I explained in an earlier post, this is a symbolist-style re-imagining of the three main heroines of Ikuhara Kunihiko's three most well-known works - Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Sailor Moon, and Mawaru Penguindrum.

The three heroines of each series are arranged in a kind of "triple goddess" or "three witches" (after Dario Argento's Three Mothers film mythos, influenced by De Quincey's above essay) motif - Anthy as crone/Mater Tenebrarum (black/indigo), Himari as maiden/Mater Suspiriorum (red/orange), and Usagi/Serenity as mother/"Mater Lachrymosum.

At the bottom of the painting is the face of Jeanne, the tortured witch-revolutionary character from the 70s soft core anime Kanashimi no Belladonna (NSFW/Trigger warning!), which Ikuhara listed as a huge inspiration for Utena's themes.

Pencils, watercolors, gold and silver ink, and Copics on illustration board. Characters copyright Ikuhara Kunihiko et al; artwork copyright me.

--

"I envy those who can die. She cannot die. She simply lives on in agony."

"Why?"

"It is her punishment for taking the prince away from the girls of this world. They still tell the story even now. It is The Tale of the Rose."
Image size
1870x2599px 3.84 MB
© 2012 - 2024 mementomoryo
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keitheaverage's avatar
A hauntingly beautiful, and absolutely breathtaking tribute to these iconic ladies! I can only imagine how much work went into all the little details (like with the hair and eyelashes), especially whilst working with watercolors, but you nailed it! Color choice is on-point too! Great job!