The Painter and the Princess

Words by Caitlin Keele and design by Caitlin Keele and Naketra Mendes

Once upon a time, in a kingdom that mustn’t be yours if you’ve never heard this tale –

Actually, I’m not sure why this story begins with ‘once upon a time’. I suppose it is a traditional way to begin tales of this kind, but this is not a traditional tale. This is, in fact, a story where traditions go to ruin, among other things. This is a tale not like many

Still, this is how it begins. With ‘once upon a time’. So – let’s get back to it, shall we?

Once upon a time, in a kingdom that mustn’t be your own if you’ve never heard this story, there lived an artist of great renown by the name of Pietre Lorrenswick.

At the time, most people didn’t know a single painter by name. Painters were simply people who drew portraits, preserving the memory of important and rich figures in the homes of their descendants. Not one of those portrait artists were genuinely famous, at that time, in that kingdom.

Unlike them, though, Pietre Lorrenswick was the first (notable, at least) artist to paint anything other than portraits.

He painted things no one had ever seen before instead.

Lorrenswick was bringing something new into the world. Something incredible that people could only describe using words like ‘creativity’ and ‘expression’ and ‘imagination’. His paintings were as strange and exciting as a dream to them. That was why the paintings of Pietre Lorrenswick were more commonly ascribed the description of ‘magnificent’ and ‘exquisite’, rather than trying to name what was so different about them.

So, Lorrenswick had brought something beautiful into the world. Perhaps you think this means he was a good person, especially because he is presumably the protagonist. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Lorrenswick was, at his root, a very strange man, but he was also rather conceited. He was not grateful for the adoration of his supporters; he didn’t think much of it. In truth, Pietre Lorrenswick was rather cold and apathetic –and confusing, in terms of why he did everything he did.

However, the people did not know this, and many were beginning to think Lorrenswick was possibly the most brilliant man who ever lived. He was impossible to ignore because of that. Of course, this meant that the king and queen of his kingdom, the Kingdom of Clarrit, were aware of who he was – which began to cause them trouble.

You see, this king and queen were usually very traditional. They believed in keeping the kingdom as it was. They believed in all the rules, such as artists being portrait painters only. Unfortunately for them, however, Lorrenswick was beginning to make them question this idea, because of his popularity. Their trust in their people and their own judgement of the man’s art was confusing them and they weren’t sure what to do. So, what do you think they decided upon?

They thought it might be a nice idea to go visit a nearby kingdom, making Lorrenswick their daughter’s problem by instating her regent while they were gone.

Just as the artist Pietre Lorrenswick was not a good, morally sound protagonist like a knight in shining armour, Princess Emilie of Clarrit was not a fairy-tale princess who was stuck in a tower, under a hundred-year curse, eating poisoned apples or losing magical footwear after meeting a prince at a ball. In fact, she knew what she was doing with her power as the princess regent, and she was certain of what to do with Pietre Lorrenswick. However, once again, just as with Lorrenswick, I must again stop you from jumping to conclusions. This assuredness did not make the princess a hero either. Her role is hard to define.

I suppose the best you’ll get is ‘victim’.

Princess Emilie banned all of Pietre Lorrenswick’s paintings from being displayed, requesting but not ordering them destroyed, so as to respect the money paid for the pieces. Then, she ordered that Lorrenswick be arrested.

However, when they got to his estate, the strange, cunning man was nowhere to be found.

A few months later, though Lorrenswick was still missing, trouble began brewing with his supporters, which was most of the kingdom, including more than half of Clarrit’s painters. Unbeknownst to the princess, they were finally organising themselves, and in time, a great meeting was held.

Administrated by an organisation of several of the most talented and Lorrenswicksupportive painters in the kingdom, the meeting was called to arrange a most clever plan: since only Lorrenswick’s paintings had been banned, all the painters – and people who’d like to try – would use their own imaginations to paint like Lorrenswick.

Soon enough, wonderful paintings of curious creations were appearing across the kingdom of Clarrit. An uprising was happening in the form of art. Portraits were no longer as important, and on occasion one would turn up horribly disfigured in the street as part of the movement. There was nothing the princess could do. Her kingdom had turned against her. Eventually the people realised this too, and decided it was time to do more. They were going to take over the kingdom for their hero who had set this all in motion, and if he could be found, they would make him king.

It was exactly four months after the disappearance of Pietre Lorrenswick that his dedicated followers marched on the castle and successfully ousted the princess regent. Miraculously, Lorrenswick suddenly reappeared and claimed his throne within the day. Some of you may even be wondering if he had engineered the whole thing.

Pietre Lorrenswick technically only reigned over Clarrit for about a week before the king and queen returned and, considering there was still some support for the rightful rulers, negotiations were held.

In the end, Lorrenswick agreed to give back the throne if he could have the princess hand in marriage. As a result, the king and queen ended up using the oldest trick in the book to avoid war: marrying off their daughter to the offended party.

I hope you have gathered already from the information provided, that Princess Emilie did not like Pietre Lorrenswick one bit. His art went against all that she believed in, so as you can tell, she did not like him, trust him, or at all want to marry him. The only real reason we can possibly supply for why Lorrenswick wanted to marry her is that Lorrenswick was a very confounding man. There is just a little more, though: at their wedding, Lorrenswick allowed himself to be painted for the very first time, sitting beside her. The adoring masses who idolised Lorrenswick truly believed he did it for love, because they knew nothing of his true self. When the king and queen mysteriously gave up the throne not long after the aforementioned wedding and Lorrenswick’s first act as the new king was to banish his wife, I suppose it really let everyone down.

On that point, I believe I should summarise and explain. Lorrenswick got rid of his wife extremely soon after he married her, solving the last problem in his life and practically proving he only wanted to be painted beside her. After Princess – actually, Queen Emilie was removed from the picture, he was rich and famous…everything one could want, surely? One might even say it sounds like happily ever after – for him at least.

You might’ve figured this out already, reader, but I will let you know anyway: this story may have started with once upon a time, but Lorrenswick won’t just take a happily ever after, and this story won’t just end here, where it should. There was still more for Lorrenswick to do. He wasn’t satisfied yet, not when everything wasn’t completely ruined… and he certainly wasn’t satisfied when his art was not being challenged.

As I have mentioned more than once, Pietre Lorrenswick of Clarrit was a very, very strange and confusing man. His final strike began when he invited his queen back to the castle and his kingdom a few months after her exile.

Of course, she was suspicious and initially didn’t want to go, until she was informed that her husband had painted her portrait over and over for days. It seemed like he missed her, maybe loved her after all. Maybe he was finally going to conform to the ways she was so passionate about. Whatever it was, Emilie wanted to find out, and to see these portraits for herself.

When the Queen of Clarrit returned to her kingdom, she was welcomed by a Pietre Lorrenswick most unlike the one she had known. He seemed like he actually cared – about her – and was sorry for what he’d done. He showed her the portraits he had painted of her, and they were created with a skill that Emilie had never seen before. They astounded her.

The queen was beginning to feel something very peculiar.

She eventually realised she was softening towards her husband. Over a number of weeks, Pietre Lorrenswick continued to seem like a new man, and his wife began to find herself in love with him. She loved his portraits. She loved that he seemed to have changed just for her.

Really, it was her vanity that made this plan of Lorrenswick’s so easy to execute. When she was truly in love with this false Lorrenswick, he began to drop this fake persona. He became who he truly was again. Queen Emilie’s heart was going to be broken.

When she realised what he had done, that he was lying the whole time, she was furious. She was enraged at the man who had the audacity to try and take her heart as well as everything else he’d stolen from her.

Actually, she was mad enough to kill. So, one night, she entered the king’s bedroom with a knife in hand. She was stopped by guards, and locked in a tower for the rest of her life. Pietre Lorrenswick lived and remained king for many, many years.

That is how this tale ends.

So why? Why does it matter? Why tell this tale now?

Well, technically, this is the story of where all creativity in art comes from, in our world. This is why we don’t just have portraits today, and this is why paint and other mediums can be so much more.

When you see a beautiful art piece next, think about this, reader. This is how art came into being here.