Carlos Schwabe 

Carlos Schwabe, a major figure in Symbolism, captures the mysterious, poetic essence of Mélisande, the central character in Maurice Maeterlinck's Pelléas et Mélisande. With his soft, veiled palette, Schwabe envelops Mélisande in an ethereal aura, embodying melancholy and fragility. This figure and the position of the character can be found in one of the illustrations Schwabe designed in 1922 for the book Pelléas et Mélisande, published by Piazza in 1924 (it is Mélisande at her window, act III). The artist had already worked on an unfinished project with another publisher in 1908-1909. There are therefore some independent works for Pelléas et Mélisande dating from these years, and this watercolour is one of them. In the story, Mélisande, an enigmatic young woman, is discovered in a forest by Prince Golaud, who marries her before she falls in love with Pelléas, her half-brother. This tragic love triangle, imbued with purity and torment, inspired Schwabe to depict a delicate, timeless heroine, a symbol of the human soul between light and darkness.

Certificate of authenticity by Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond