La Fée 

Curator: Gustave Moreau's "La Fée," or "The Fairy," conjures a world brimming with Symbolist mystery. The artwork, done in oil and watercolor, portrays a fairy queen aloft a serpentine griffin against a dreamy skyscape. Editor: There's a raw, almost rushed quality to the watercolor, especially in the way the fairy queen’s garments drape – gold leaf, perhaps, but also possibly cheaper paint used in such thin, watery washes. I’m curious about Moreau’s access to materials and how that shaped the final appearance of this fantasy scene. Curator: That observation certainly grounds the ethereal quality. What appears purely imaginative takes root in material reality. Symbolically, consider the Fairy as a cultural ideal—what did the artistic production constraints imply about cultural aspirations during his era? Editor: I would suggest there is an exploration of value on different levels at work. While the subject and her fantastical mode of transport suggest a kind of timelessness, even extravagance, the use of watercolor in almost a sketch-like manner tells us much about the processes of production behind such art. Perhaps that very dichotomy appealed to his buyers, and perhaps that tension informed the symbolic meaning for its contemporary audience. Curator: Interesting! To extend your observation further: she bears a jeweled scepter and floral crown, standard emblems of sovereignty, all contrasted by the rugged terrain she oversees. What message of power does that union between luxury and landscape give? Editor: It makes me wonder what Moreau, or his commissioners, thought of that interplay of wealth and hard-scrabble life. There’s that snake-like beast the fairy rides that really draws my eye—I am fascinated to see the base elements he worked with to create it. Curator: That hybrid beast, it’s the key here. Griffin denotes wisdom and protection; serpent implies transformation and immortality. Combined, the Fairy is both guardian and conduit between earthly and ethereal realms, all echoed by her position on the griffin serpent high in the atmosphere, while also firmly seated upon the physical artwork in our gallery today. Editor: Thinking about it now, the tension between material realities and Moreau's fantasy-scapes deepens the mystery surrounding not only its meanings, but it production. A nice, rich, multifaceted artwork.