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拍品专文
William Hawkins (1895-1990) used a variety of literary, popular and visual sources as inspiration for his works. This painting draws its imagery from the Mexican flag, though Hawkins distorts the scale and relationship between the animals to add a personal spin to the vignette. The piece also references "The Snake, the Eagle and the Farmer," from Aesop's Fables:
A snake and an eagle were grappling with one another as they fought. The snake had tightened his hold on the eagle when a farmer saw them and freed the eagle from the grip of the snake. The snake was angry about what had happened, so he went and poisoned the man's drinking water. But just as the unsuspecting farmer was about to take a drink, the eagle flew down and snatched the cup out of his hands. - Laura Gibbs, trans., Aesop's Fables (Oxford, England, 2002)
Hawkins would often tilt his surfaces after applying his signature semi-gloss enamel paint, allowing the artwork to, at times, "make itself." This technique is most evident here in the areas of pooled white paint. The staccato marks of his worn paintbrushes form the texture within the bird’s feathers and in the grasses beneath the snake. The spots of silver along the snake's body are spray paint, showing yet another paint application technique. This is an early work by Hawkins, dated in part through its use of plywood rather than Masonite as a ground surface, and because the border surrounding the work is an undecorated solid color. This version is one of four variations of Eagle and Serpent painted by the artist.
A snake and an eagle were grappling with one another as they fought. The snake had tightened his hold on the eagle when a farmer saw them and freed the eagle from the grip of the snake. The snake was angry about what had happened, so he went and poisoned the man's drinking water. But just as the unsuspecting farmer was about to take a drink, the eagle flew down and snatched the cup out of his hands. - Laura Gibbs, trans., Aesop's Fables (Oxford, England, 2002)
Hawkins would often tilt his surfaces after applying his signature semi-gloss enamel paint, allowing the artwork to, at times, "make itself." This technique is most evident here in the areas of pooled white paint. The staccato marks of his worn paintbrushes form the texture within the bird’s feathers and in the grasses beneath the snake. The spots of silver along the snake's body are spray paint, showing yet another paint application technique. This is an early work by Hawkins, dated in part through its use of plywood rather than Masonite as a ground surface, and because the border surrounding the work is an undecorated solid color. This version is one of four variations of Eagle and Serpent painted by the artist.