Raging, Wotan Rides to the rock, like a storm-wind he comes! 1910

Arthur Rackham made this drawing, "Raging, Wotan Rides to the rock, like a storm-wind he comes!", with ink and watercolor, and it feels like the image just erupted onto the page. I can imagine him bent over the paper, flicking the ink and coaxing the colours to swirl into shape. There’s so much energy, so much light, and dark – just like painting! I bet Arthur Rackham was thinking about power, mythology, and maybe even the sublime. How else do you convey the awesome power of a god on horseback? Just look at those streaks of light tearing through the sky, the horse’s flared nostrils, the determined set of Wotan’s jaw. I feel like I can hear the thundering hooves. Rackham was an illustrator, so he was in the business of bringing stories to life, just like painters who want to bring something new into the world. I wonder who will be inspired by his work and make something new themselves!