‘The Rhine’s fair children, bewailing their lost gold, weep’ 1910

Editor: Arthur Rackham’s 1910 drawing, “‘The Rhine’s fair children, bewailing their lost gold, weep’", done with ink, watercolor, and drawing, depicts a rather melancholic scene, doesn't it? The figures almost seem to emerge from the landscape itself, like a memory. What sort of tale do you think this image is trying to convey? Curator: This piece vibrates with the weight of myth. See how the rainbow, a symbol often associated with hope and promise, is rendered almost ghostly? It looms over the Rhinemaidens, but it doesn't necessarily promise solace. Instead, it could represent a lost paradise or an unattainable ideal, now tainted. Their longing isn't just for lost gold, it’s for something deeper, a primal innocence perhaps? Consider how water typically represents fluidity and emotion; in this illustration, do the waves offer support, or are they just another form of restless yearning? Editor: I hadn't thought about the rainbow that way, as a tainted ideal. I was so focused on the sadness of the figures. The waves almost look like they are reaching up to grasp the maidens, threatening to pull them back under the water! It really emphasizes the constant push and pull of loss. Is that sense of sorrow related to the fairy painting theme in general, or is there something more specific at play? Curator: The fairy-painting tradition often explored the intersection of beauty and sorrow. This piece connects specifically to Wagner’s Ring Cycle and comments on innocence betrayed for the sake of power. The Rhinemaidens are perpetually mourning the theft of the gold, an event that sets in motion a chain of tragic events. Their sorrow becomes a cultural echo, reminding us of the enduring consequences of greed and the corruption of ideals. In the iconography of mourning, have you noticed the constant reaching, both physical and emotional? Editor: That connection to Wagner clarifies the sense of epic tragedy here. I’ll definitely remember to look deeper at the symbolism in seemingly simple images like this, to explore that cultural echo! Curator: Absolutely. It's in these layered symbols and allusions that art truly speaks across time.