12January 2012
I have been playing the video game Skyrim a lot lately. And just to make a connection between fantasy paintings and this fantasy game, I give you Maxfield Parrish.
First off, Skyrim rocks. An HD video game with 5,000+ hours of digital escapism hunting dragons. Seriously Skyrim just rocks and dragons have the best treasure.
Skyrim was released at midnight 11-11-11. I know that because I was one of the geeks at GameStop in uptown Minneapolis for the midnight release with the rest of the entertainment hungry flock.
As to Maxfield Parrish, I have never really liked his subject matter, albeit his technical skill at rendering realistic and painterly works is nearly unmatched in art history. I love the way his work appears as if it were a silver gelatin print. This painting is at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts where I spend way too much time, but not nearly as much as I have spent playing Skyrim lately.
Maxfield Parrish
American, 1870-1966
“Dream Castle in the Sky”
1908, oil on canvas
“I don’t know what people find or like in me, I’m hopelessly commonplace! Current appreciation of my work is a bit highbrow, I’ve always considered myself a popular artist.”
-Maxfield Parrish