La Fontaine fables, triptych, acrylic and gilded gold on wood, June 2018

design and production of an hand-painted triptych La Fontaine fables for a private Parisian flat - June 2018

 - the total dimensions of the triptych are 1,6 meter width by 1 meter height 

 - using gold pearlescent acrylic paints on painted wood with gold feather gilding accents and lacquered finish  

This project was made just after the charcoal drawings The monuments of Paris.On the suggestion of the interior designer Pascale Benhamou, Cécile Gay has created this chic and poetic triptych to decorate the empty wall of a kitchen of a luxurious retail client’s flat in Paris. The art work on this wall, visible from the dinning room, match the dark green marble tones of the consoles and tables around. It is inspired by the Cabinet des Fables created in 1750 by the painter Jean-Baptiste Oudry and still displayed at the MAD museum. The painted views on the triptych are taken from this museum room and are depicting 3 selected fables from La Fontaine – a famous French writer from the 17^thcentury - from left to right : the wolf pleading before the monkey against the fox, the lion and the donkey hunting, the deer gazing at his reflection in the water. The animals are surrounded by a dense foliage evoking a European deep forest. The plants all around are becoming flourish decorating ornaments framing and highlighting the central main scene of each fable. The gold monochromatic pictorial work onto the dark green background creates a dynamic contrast which gives its luxury and its contemporaneity to this artwork. The gilded accents using gold leaf (non precious metal) bring depth and fine details to the design. The lacquered effect of the glaze add more brilliance and makes many reflections as if each scene is near-fantasy, evanescent and unreal. Cécile Gay has created this artwork from the proposals with the first drawings, from the final delivery before framework and the making of drawing samples and colour tries. The end result of this work is fully tailored to perfectly fit the client’s wishes as a result of dialogue between the interior designer and the artist.