The Glass Swan Silk Ribbon Large

The Glass Swan was inspired by Italian Renaissance paintings and cultural events, alongside beliefs and attitudes of the era; the dichotomy of idealism versus naturalism opening a portal to landscapes of fantasy; a ‘New World’. Bubbles were employed within Italian Renaissance art as a metaphor or philosophical allegory for the immaculate conception, for light passes through them without causing harm. Jewellery of pearls denotes purity, preciousness and truth. The scene is laid within a fairytale landscape, where pastel palaces and elegant spires extend into the hazy skies from lofty mountaintops. This is no ordinary view; it is a place where the immortals tread, the state between earth and heaven.