“The Blue Bird appeared at the RA in 1918, the last year of the Great War. Military images dominated the exhibition and the picture must have struck an incongruous note amid the portraits of generals, tributes to indomitable Tommies, romanticised accounts of ‘bringing up the guns’, and poignant war memorials…The picture does, however, undoubtedly relate to Madame d’Aulnoy’s fairy tale of the same name, first published in 1697. This tells of a beautiful young princess, Fiordelisa, who falls in love with a handsome prince. He returns her love, but her wicked step-mother, wanting him to marry her own ill-favoured daughter, Turritella, shuts her up in a tower and attempts to blacken her name with her suitor. When the prince, refusing to marry Turritella, is transformed into a Blue Bird by her fairy godmother, he flies to the tower and holds amorous tête-à-têtes with Fiordelisa, bringing her presents of jewels as tokens of his affection.
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Cowper shows the lovers enjoying one of these trysts, the princess holding a rope of pearls that the Blue Bird has evidently just given her. The story was retold by Andrew Lang in his Green Fairy Book (1892), one of the eleven ‘coloured’ Fairy Books that he produced for Longmans between 1889 and 1910. All were illustrated by H.J. Ford, and one of his designs for ‘The Blue Bird’ shows the same subject as that represented by Cowper’s picture.”
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Frank Cadogan Cowper at wikiwand
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Frank Cadogan Cowper At Sunnyside
Frank Cadogan Cowper at Christie’s
Frank Cadogan Cowper at Art Renewal Center
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~Sunnyside
At Sunnyside - Where Truth and Beauty Meet 
Such a beautiful story and image. Thank you:)
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My pleasure, always, Janet. I am happy you enjoy this. 🙂🌻🙏
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Magnifique, on ne voit que l’ 🐦 bleu
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Christine! 🙂🌻🙏
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Beautiful 💙💙💙
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I am happy you enjoy this, Luisa. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂🌻🙏
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You’re sincerely welcome!🌹
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This is really beautiful to me. I love the deep, rich colors! Thank you!
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My pleasure, always, Sheila. I am happy you enjoy this. 🙂🌻
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Love will find a way!
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Yes! lol 🙂🌻
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The flute sonatas are impeccable. So is the painting – lovely. I find it interesting that Maeterlinck’s Blue Bird came to symbolize happiness, or, rather quest for it, as opposed to a love story.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Dolly. I always appreciate your insights. 🙂🌻🙏
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A beautiful painting and story. The Blue bird reminds me of the Australian Bower bird, which gathers shiny blue objects and builds a fancy bower made of twigs and other bits and pieces through which he attracts his mate and presents his ‘dowry’ to her.
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I had to learn more about the Australian Bower bird (of course!). Thanks, Vivienne! 🙂🌻 https://youtu.be/bOfukj1aM1E?feature=shared
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Amazing story and the first I had heard it. Thank you!
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My pleasure, Omar. I always enjoy art with a good story. 🙂🌻
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