Projet d'illustration pour Macbeth - les sorcières dansant autour 

Luc-Olivier Merson rendered this illustration for Macbeth with ink and graphite, capturing the witches in a frenzy of dark ritual. Consider the cauldron, a motif as ancient as civilization itself. It is not merely a cooking pot, but a vessel of transformation, a site of alchemy where base elements are transmuted into something new, often monstrous. We find echoes of this transformative cauldron in myths and legends across cultures, from the Celtic tales of rebirth to the gruesome stews of folklore. Observe the central witch, arms raised in ecstatic invocation. This gesture, reminiscent of ancient priestesses calling upon their deities, reveals a deep-seated human impulse to connect with powers beyond our comprehension. It evokes both fear and fascination, tapping into our collective memory of the mystical and the forbidden. The emotional weight of the image comes from the psychological power of archetypes and the raw intensity of human emotion. The serpent, skull, and feral animals surrounding the witches are symbols of death, destruction, and chaos. They have resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts, reminding us of the cyclical nature of these symbols in art and culture.