Watercolor: Charlemagne Window

Charlemange-Window-Strassbourg-Cathedral-1180AD-10x14-220127.jpg

Watercolor: Charlemagne Window - 10" x 14"

One of my ancestors was Charlemagne, the French spelling of "Charles the Great"). He lived 742-814 -- a great king, devout, but an ambitious and sometimes cruel warrior, who conquered most of western Europe as King of the Franks, with his capital in Aachen, the westmost city in what is now Germany. He wears a beard like his Germanic forbears, making him look barbarian to the more refined rulers of his day. As part of my processing what it means to have him as an ancestor, I painted this rendition of a stained glass window placed in the the Strasbourg Cathedral in 1180, alongside colorful stained glass windows of other "emperors". I love the brilliant color of this ancient glass, and the kind of funky, cartoonish image of "KARLUS MAGNUS REX" (literally, "Carl [Charles] Great King"). For clarity, I have removed two horizontal metal bars that hold the glass together, but obstruct the image. 220127. Watercolor and ink on hot press paper. 10" x 14".