Tamino in the Wilderness

Inspired by Mozart’s Magic Flute Prince Tamino is wearing the most beautiful dream coat of many colours, while walking lost in the wilderness of a far away country in Act I, Scene I. Little does he know it but the serpent is about to attack him from behind a tree. Luckily for Tamino he will be saved and revived by the Queen of the Night’s three helpers. The composition of the figures walking on a path through a wood has been explored several times by the artist. In this instance it reconjurs childhood memories of various heros on their quest in the pantomime (Puss in Boots, Dick Wittington, Babes in the Wood). It also connects to Dorothy on her mission to find The Wizard of Oz. Why is it that these childhood memories still have so much power to us as adults? Perhaps we never leave behind the child in us that craves for a sense of fear and excitement on the journey to or from home. – TH