Pencil sketches for Till Eulenspiegel LP cover, 1955. The above skeletal figures eventually morphed into this rough layout:
... which was refined as this unfinished tempera setting:
... which evolved into this finished RCA Victor Red Seal cover:
Till Eulenspiegel was an impudent prankster in German folklore. Flora rendered several pen and ink drawings of the trickster in the 1990s. Perhaps he recognized a kindred spirit.
Ha!
ReplyDeleteAnd allow me a moment of bragging rights: about ten years ago I found a sealed copy of said LP for two bucks.
It's no longer sealed because I love Richard Strauss and (*gasp*) have played the collector's item!
I love how little bits of the artwork move around in each subsequent version. And what I thought was a cat in the hat became in owl in a...ummm...hat.
ReplyDeleteEach version is amazing. Each one would have made a fantastic cover. This man was just born with more than his share of talent and energy.
ReplyDeleteReally cool to see that preliminary sketch too.
Thanks a bunch for sharing the awesomeness.
Tod und Verklärung!
ReplyDelete