The Robin Muse

About this work

Lowered eyes lead straight down to the robin she cradles in both hands, and that downward glance gives the picture its quiet focus. Copper-red hair shows beneath her pale sage hood, and the bird's red breast echoes it just below, two warm notes in a cold scene. Behind her rises a golden disc, a round Art Nouveau halo, while snow rests on the branches around her and falls through the air. The cloak is pale and simple, which keeps attention on her face and hands. From across a room you notice the gold circle and the touches of red; up close, the snowflakes and the fine ornament of the halo appear. It feels personal and protective, a small moment of care in deep winter.

The image follows Alphonse Mucha's decorative panels of the four seasons from 1896, in which Winter is a woman wrapped in a cloak, sheltering a small bird from the cold. Mucha often placed his women before a round halo of ornament, and that device returns here in gold. The robin has its own Christmas story. In Victorian Britain, postmen wore red coats and were nicknamed robins, and the bird soon became a favourite on Christmas cards. The Robin Muse is a reimagining in gold, not a copy.

Its copper and red make it the warmer companion to The Winter Muse, and the two hang well as a pair; add The Snowflake Reindeer for a group of three. Hung alone, it suits a hallway, a dressing room or a bedroom, on cream, sage or soft white walls. A brushed copper or warm gold frame picks up the hair and the robin, and a cream mat keeps the edges soft. Warm lamplight on winter afternoons suits it well. A medium print fits beside a mirror, and a large one can hang over a bed. The file prints sharply to roughly 76 cm on the long edge at 300 dpi.