Arantzazu Martínez, The Little Mermaid, 2012

You may know the Little Mermaid from the 1989 Disney movie, but the story was originally written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1836. Martínez has painted the scene where the Little Mermaid saves a beautiful prince from a shipwreck in a storm. Andersen describes the scene: “Then she dived deeply under the dark waters, rising and falling with the waves, till at length she managed to reach the young prince, who was fast losing the power of swimming in that stormy sea. His limbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he would have died had not the little mermaid come to his assistance.”
In regards to her scene, Martínez writes “two figures weightless, submerged in the ocean, corals, lost treasures, dangers lurking in the dark, the search for the freedom to become who you want to be, strength, determination… these ingredients deserved a painting!”

http://www.arantzazumartinez.com/

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