PRUGNE

PATRICK PRUGNE Pocahontas, Daniel Maghen 2022 Original cover. Signed. Watercolor on paper 37.1 × 48 cm (14.61 × 18.9 in.) Pocahontas... This name has always sounded to my ears like a haunting Indian song. A myth, an inexhaustible source of inspiration, this is what this Indian princess has become in spite of herself over the years. But behind this delicate exoticism, there is the arrival of the colonists, the cracking of the muskets and the fury of the cannons. We could have been satisfied with a beautiful love story between Pocahontas and Captain John Smith, but when history with a capital "H" comes along, it reminds us of the sad reality. What we know for sure today is that if the name of John Smith has entered the legend, it is thanks to that of Pocahontas. I am at this point when I approach the realization of this cover. The meeting of the two characters is obvious, but beyond that, the meeting of two peoples, of two worlds. The proud and noble Powhatans Indians follow their princess and advance to meet the English soldiers and John Smith. The ragged frusks, the pitiful dress, the helmeted conquerors have lost their superbness. And I enjoy painting their flag in tatters with the snow as a shroud. Would it be a bias? Patrick Prugne