Face To Face

Face-to-Face

18th Century literature has many memorable moments and characters. An artist, Isaac Butaunt, created a mural to convey the highlights from his favorite works within this century. His main inspiration was driven by the never-ending battle between good and evil. He wanted to emphasize the aversion between the two parties. Butaunt admits he had "artists block," where he couldn't think of the things to paint. He was struggling because he wanted to tie in modern ideas with the 18th century literature characters. However, the idea struck him like lightening when he saw the commercial for a boxing match. He saw the animosity between the two fighters in the picture. Butaunt wanted his painting to give off this same feeling.

The main scene in the mural revolves around the final battle between Beowulf and the dragon in Beowulf. The floor is rocky, the sky is pitch black and there are flames surrounding all of the characters. He created a feeling of anguish by painting disgruntled faces on each character. With the inspiration from the boxing ad, each protagonist is directly facing their rival on the opposite end of the mural.

First in line is Beowulf facing the dragon. The dragon is about three times the size of Beowulf with jagged scales and sharp claws. The dragon's eyes are pointed directly at Beowulf and its mouth is open ready to torch his enemy. Likewise, Beowulf's eyes are beaming towards the dragon. He is equipped with a full bodysuit of chain mail, belt with the small sword, along with a fully enclosed helmet. More importantly, Beowulf is grasping Naegling with both hands above his head, ready to stab the dragon's belly.

Next to Beowulf is King Arthur from Morte Darthur. King Arthur is fully armored with chain mail, a red garb with a white cross, and a crown helmet that shines in the light. Also, he is pointing his legendary Excalibur at his sister Morgan Le Fay. Butaunt chose Le Fey as the enemy because these two siblings have grown to hate each other. Le Fey's plans usually involved disrupting or ruining King Arthur's rule in some manner. Morgan Le Fey's features are often discussed as a clichй witch. However, Butaunt interpreted Le Fey as a young, attractive witch with a very tight fitting black outfit. She is wearing a tiara but her eyes are a bit devilish because hate has consumed her. These two don't directly fight in Morte Darthur but the plot is centralized around their conflict.

Next to Arthur is his loyal knight Sir Gawain from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir Gawain has the same red garb and chain mail as King Arthur. However, he is on a white horse and is wearing a general's helmet. In his hand is a sword and on his right shoulder is the infamous green girdle. This girdle is like the scarlet letter of the 18th century. Butaunt thought it was necessary to include it because its significance in the story. As many remember, Sir Gawain wears it to recall his encounter with the Green Knight. Across the way is the Green Knight., a giant green headless man holding his own head on a green horse with extravagant gold trimmings. The Green Knight is holding his own head in one hand and grasping his green axe in the other. It is so large it is touching the ground while the Green Knight is holding it on his horse! This significance of the headless man summarizes the Green Knight's twisted decapitation