MIRALLES Lot n° 40

ANA MIRALLES DJINN Dargaud Mortelle séduction, original illustration realized in 2019, published in Ana by Daniel Maghen in 2022. Signed. Watercolor and pencil on paper 30.3 × 37.8 cm (11.93 × 14.88 in.) The snake. From the anaconda haunting Eva Medusa's Amazon to the reptiles invoked by Sultan Murati to terrorize Lord Hawkings, they are part of Ana Miralles' bestiary. But in this watercolor, the royal cobra that Jade faces in a calm and silent duel carries another dimension. See how finely its marbling is represented, or the velvety texture of its scales. For the djinn, whose armor is reduced to her tattoos, whose only weapon is her gaze, this beautiful snake is a partner, an adversary, and also an element of decor that enhances her beauty - in the same way that a crystal decanter, the velvety texture of a fabric, or the fall of a hanging can be. "Drawing a carpet in its entirety is like a little hell," sighs Ana Miralles. But to play with light and transparency by superimposing up to twelve - yes, twelve! - layers of watercolor on the environment of her naked beauties, from the shape of a stucco to the polish of a ewer, surely looks like heaven. Conceived and pencilled in 2004, this illustration matured in a gray metal folder - until, fifteen years later, Ana Miralles felt the urge to color it.