There is an animal inside us all. From our primal instincts – hunger, sex, jealousy, protection – to our will to survive, we have an innate bond with the beasts around us. This interchangeability is explored by figurative ar tist Keith Maiden in his powerful new collection, Daemons . It’s a subject that has captivated audiences for centuries. During his research, Keith discovered Leonardo da Vinci’s 1489 masterpiece, ‘Lady with an Ermine’. One of only four female por traits by the legendary Renaissance ar tist, the painting depicts Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of his patron, Lodovico Sforza of Milan. It is believed that the small, furry creature represents Lodovico, who sometimes went by the name of Ermellino Bianco (‘white ermine’). In recent years, writers like the Irish poet W. B. Yeats and the American sci-fi writer C. L. Moore have also interpreted this concept. But perhaps the most famous literary example is Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, in which dæmons are a physical manifestation of a person’s self in animal form. Created with graphite, oil, acrylic and pastel, Keith’s new original ar tworks explore themes of family values, trust, love and friendship. Subtle ear th tones have been added to his usual monochromatic palette, illustrating a natural progression in style for the painter, whose previous collections – including Equilibrium and If I Were The Devil – have marked him out as a provocative contemporary ar tist. Taking inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci, Keith chose to position his beasts with strong female characters. “I really liked the connection between humans and wild animals,” he explains. “I used large cats as it’s not an image you see every day...a beautiful tattooed woman with the most dangerous of animals. They are a touch surreal, in a dark and beautiful way.”
(noun) Latin: from the Ancient Greek ‘daimon’, a guiding spirit Daemon
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