Carl Barks painted many of his Disney paintings using inspiration from his earlier comic book stories and covers. Some were copied from simple gag situations, while others came from the ducks' many adventure stories. From the latter group Barks liked to paint historical and mythological scenes, as they often contain thrilling motifs, and they also appealed to him because of his genuine interest in old times and old tales. One story was U$10 The Golden Fleecing from 1956, from which one of Barks' most memorable mythological paintings emerged. It is numbered and titled 10-73 Menace Out of the Myths. This is the story.
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THE TRIGGER |
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U$12 The Golden Fleecing - 1956 S ynopsis:This epic adventure - that mostly takes place in the mythological landscape known as Colchis in Greece - opens when Scrooge McDuck decides to buy a new coat made of gold-wool fit for a rich man. When Duckburg's clothiers tell him there is no such thing, Scrooge becomes more determined than ever to find one. He has an idea where to get some outstanding material, namely the mythological Greek hero Jason's legendary Golden Fleece. By chance, Scrooge meets with a strange man, known as an Eikral from the country of Seikral, who knows where to find the coveted gold-wool. Donald, wary of this stranger, asks his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie to look up the name Seikral in their trusty Junior Woodchucks Guidebook - and it seems that Seikral is Larkies spelled backwards. The mythical Larkies were creatures who were half woman, half bird. Scrooge, Donald, and the nephews are now transported to the legendary Colchis where, after several turns of fortune, they defeat the larkies and a huge dragon, and capture the Golden Fleece, whereupon they manage to flee. When the ducks return home a gold coat is tailored, but soon Scrooge retrieves his old coat out of the trash because the new coat was just too uncomfortable! A few c omments:Barks got his main plot from Greek mythology - the story about Jason and the golden fleece guarded by a fierce dragon. He also used 5 mythological fantasy bird-ladies, Harpies, who are described as winged monsters with the face of an ugly old woman and equipped with crooked, sharp talons. They carried off persons to the underworld and inflicted punishment on them by befouling all the food the hungry people received. Barks called the birds Harpies, as they were indeed called in mythology, but he was asked to change their names to Larkies, as the editor thought that in some corners of the USA the name Harpies was slang for ladies of the night (i.e. prostitutes). He was also told to change two panels in which the bird-ladies acted insanely. In fact, all the ladies' actions do suggest some measure of insanity... The names of the 5 Larkies are purely from Barks' fantasy and spelled backwards. Example: Eikral Senga meaning Agnes Larkie. They are (in the correct order of spelling) Agnes, Ali, Bessie, Fay, and Inez. In a l etter from 1975 Barks revealed his dilemma (excerpt): ... I almost had to eat those 32 pages of drawings because I'd used some harpies as menaces. It seems that Harpy or Harpie is an obscure nickname for a street-walker. I managed to save the story by renaming the old girls LARKIES ...Although Barks made his own story, it is interesting to see how many ingredients he actually transferred from the old Greek mythological tale. He blended ancient and modern times together as he lets the ducks search for the original wool in the present time. Also, he changed the initially gruesome and despicable winged monsters into rather jovial but scatterbrained beings in order to make them more palatable and amusing to a young audience. Observe that Barks mentioned the wooly artifact as a Fleecing instead of a Fleece in his story title. The term was corrected when he in 1972 made the duck painting titled Golden Fleece. |
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THE PAINTING |
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The painting - that was to be a very complex scene
from Colchis that was never in the story as the ducks did not seek or find any
treasures - was ordered by businessman and friend Malcolm Willits, but at
first Barks was reluctant to abide with the wish of this special motif, as it
called for numerous details and many colours, but soon he started the project
anyway by jotting down cascades of sketches, and studying Greek culture and
relevant artifacts. As for the misty background buildings Barks used a
photograph from Rome's Forum Romanum found in the June 1970 issue of The
National Geographic Magazine. Garé was an established and highly recognized landscape painting artist who later commented on the painting in a letter to a friend by stating: It is so different from any Carl has done before and I thought it was magnificent! I don't see his paintings from a collector's eyeview, though, so others may not agree. But the harmony of color, the atmosphere, and the handling of the detail (pillars, middleground, ruins, etc.) is a masterpiece in my opinion! It is easy to understand that there must have been a lot of man hours behind the final result. The composition, the numerous details, the mood, and the atmosphere of this supernatural drama are unsurpassed. Still, one may wonder why the ducks look at the very scary and probably screeching monster (that is much more repulsive and 'real' than the equivalent in the story) are looking more bewildered than alarmed! Also, it is puzzling that the Larkie is only followed by 3 of her 4 sisters... Aftermaths: Bought by Willits for 1,000 dollars on July 29, 1973 (see more HERE). Sold at an auction for 125,000.00 dollars on November 17, 2007. Not sold at an auction on February, 25-27, 2010. In 1996 the painting was made into a so-called miniature lithograph, numbered and signed by Barks in 595 issues, size 7˝x10" (190x250mms), material Opalesque Keramique cotton fiber, comprised of 11 colours. |
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THE SKETCHES |
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As usual, Barks made numerous sketches of the motif. Some were based on the initial idea concept, others were what he called 'feeling-around' sketches, and again others focussed on specific parts of the motif. Slowly a detailed sketch material emerged, whereupon Barks began to pencil the drawings in an orderly way, until he felt confident enough to start painting. Then he made a number of coloured images in which he worked intensely with colours, contrasts, and lightings, and when he was satisfied the real artwork began. Below you are presented to a few of Barks' sketches. Pay attention to the many more or less subtle changes and differences that occurred during the lengthy process. |
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THE OTHER PAINTING |
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Because Barks was so fascinated by Greek mythology it comes as no surprise that the year before he had already 'warmed up' by choosing another motif from the story: |
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Finally, Scrooge is rewarded for his troubles when he discovers the Golden Fleece deep beneath a Colchis temple. Observe how closely Barks followed his original story panel. In the painting he had considerably more opportunities to include further details. Examples: The walls have great details such as several 'hidden' Larkie depictions for one; you may even perceive the vulture-like shadow behind the bucket as a Larkie's hanging-down head, and Scrooge's shadow is Larkie-like to boot... This was the only painting Barks made in the unusual, elongated size of 12x24" (305x610mms) in order to illustrate the long underground passages to the treasure. Later on, Barks returned to additional Greek mythology inspired scenes such as 14-75 Cave of the Minotaur, 08-76 King Midas having Fun, and 29-78 Ajax, Returning Hero, and he also made one last published push on Greek mythology late in life (see more HERE). |
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http://www.cbarks.dk/THECOLCHISPAINTING.htm |
Date 2017-07-15 |
