Art Rec: Untitled Portrait of Sherlock Holmes in Retirement
Title: Untitled Portrait of Sherlock Holmes in Retirement
Artist: Johix
Pairing: Gen
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Verse: Books
Author's summary: …after my withdrawal to my little Sussex home, when I had given myself up entirely to that soothing life of Nature for which I had so often yearned during the long years spent amid the gloom of London.
- Sherlock Holmes The Lion’s Mane
Reccer's comments: A melancholic yet lovely portrait of Holmes in the Sussex countryside. I could easily imagine this as a stained glass window, not just because of the stylization of the background and how the coloring is handled, but also because Holmes is presented as a saint. "Saint of what?" you might ask. Perhaps a Saint of Detecting, or of Deduction? The artist is wisely silent on this; wise because it gives the reader room to imagine not only what type of saint he might be, but also Holmes's reaction to being "canonized". :) Whatever title you assign him, it's the placement of the sun or moon behind his head that evokes a saint's halo. Add to that the pensiveness of his expression and his clasped hands and the similarity to portraits of Christian saints is quite obvious. Joking aside, I love this conceit, for it suggests the power of Sherlock Holmes on the human imagination, a power which has inspired many incarnations and a century of fannish creativity.
The melancholy comes in with who is missing from this portrait, coupled with a quote from "The Lion's Mane". No John Watson. Holmes may love the countryside of the South Downs, with its abundance of growing things, bees, and the nearness of the sea, but his Boswell is not with him in TLM. No, the good Watson only visits very occasionally, according to TLM!Holmes. We are left to imagine Holmes alone at the end of his life, bereft of the things which seemed to give him so much pleasure in the past. It may very well be that he is quite content in his solitude. Or. We might rebel, considering the controversy that surrounds TLM, and therefore might imagine it a cover to protect both men in a culture hostile to same-sex relationships of any stripe. Dr. Watson may be out of frame, perhaps standing behind him, or sitting on the same seat, facing the opposite direction. What do you think? Choose your adventure.
Artist: Johix
Pairing: Gen
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Verse: Books
Author's summary: …after my withdrawal to my little Sussex home, when I had given myself up entirely to that soothing life of Nature for which I had so often yearned during the long years spent amid the gloom of London.
- Sherlock Holmes The Lion’s Mane
Reccer's comments: A melancholic yet lovely portrait of Holmes in the Sussex countryside. I could easily imagine this as a stained glass window, not just because of the stylization of the background and how the coloring is handled, but also because Holmes is presented as a saint. "Saint of what?" you might ask. Perhaps a Saint of Detecting, or of Deduction? The artist is wisely silent on this; wise because it gives the reader room to imagine not only what type of saint he might be, but also Holmes's reaction to being "canonized". :) Whatever title you assign him, it's the placement of the sun or moon behind his head that evokes a saint's halo. Add to that the pensiveness of his expression and his clasped hands and the similarity to portraits of Christian saints is quite obvious. Joking aside, I love this conceit, for it suggests the power of Sherlock Holmes on the human imagination, a power which has inspired many incarnations and a century of fannish creativity.
The melancholy comes in with who is missing from this portrait, coupled with a quote from "The Lion's Mane". No John Watson. Holmes may love the countryside of the South Downs, with its abundance of growing things, bees, and the nearness of the sea, but his Boswell is not with him in TLM. No, the good Watson only visits very occasionally, according to TLM!Holmes. We are left to imagine Holmes alone at the end of his life, bereft of the things which seemed to give him so much pleasure in the past. It may very well be that he is quite content in his solitude. Or. We might rebel, considering the controversy that surrounds TLM, and therefore might imagine it a cover to protect both men in a culture hostile to same-sex relationships of any stripe. Dr. Watson may be out of frame, perhaps standing behind him, or sitting on the same seat, facing the opposite direction. What do you think? Choose your adventure.