The Golden Key (157 page)
Authors: Melanie Rawn,Jennifer Roberson,Kate Elliott
Most debate on this portrait centers on the figure of Alejandro. He does not look ill or even particularly old—perhaps a flattery by the artist—though his seated pose is evidently meant to mask the unidentified illness that forced him to abdicate at the age of forty. In his lap rests a bouquet of blue roses, which in Grijalva symbology represent Impossibility. From his left hand dangles a golden key, a reference possibly to his mother’s Grijalva ancestry. More curiously, scattered under and around his boots are pea plants, some still in flower; research has revealed no iconographical meaning for the humble pea, but the sweet pea appropriately symbolizes Departure. That the sweet pea was intended is further borne out by Alejandro’s chair; it is everywhere minutely inscribed with tiny writing—lately identified as that of an ancient Tza’ab mystic cult—recently translated as a single phrase repeated over and over: “Here it ends, I am free.”
Alejandro officially abdicated in 1358 due to ill health and retired to Palasso Grijalva. No death date has ever been firmly established for him. The claims of certain art historians that this painting is by Grand Duke Alejandro himself, done many years after the abdication it records, are completely unsubstantiated and entirely ridiculous.
The Mirror of Truth
, by Saavedra Grijalva, 1316.
Oil on wood. Galerria Verrada.
The prize of this small but exquisite collection—not as well known as the impressive collection at the Galerria Nacionalla but in its own way of great interest to the art lover—is Saavedra Grijalva’s acknowledged masterpiece. This intimate, detailed, and keenly perceptive character study is all the more remarkable for the fact that the subject stands in profile with his back to the viewer.
Usually identified as Sario Grijalva, a painter of minor talent, the man wears clothing in the style known as
Ila Revvolucion
in honor of the great revolution which, after many years of tribulation and war, freed Ghillas from the tyranny of kings and nobles. His profile reveals the rather bland face of a typical Tira Virteian native, black hair, dark eyes, with a bold Grijalva nose. But a different face is seen in the mirror—sharper of feature, darker of eye, complexion as brown as a Tza’ab tribesman’s.
Many scholars have argued over the meaning of this painting. Does it represent the chi’patro origins of the Grijalvas? Does it allude to a dark tale of captivity and loss, as set down in lurid detail in the novel by Branwell Brontis and later adapted into an operetta by the Strassi brothers? Does the centuries’ difference in clothing suggest the modern man looking back to the unknowable past? Or does this painting, as some claim, express as allegory the Matra’s ability to distinguish the true heart of that man brave enough to look into the mirror of his soul?
What makes the painting most affecting, and indeed its triumph as a work of art, is its surpassingly delicate use of light. The two candles in the windowless room have long since guttered out, the wicks cold and the melted wax solid in their iron stands. One of the two lamps is no longer burning, leaving Sario to contemplate the mirror by the light of a single lamp. Soon, the painter seems to suggest, this light, too, will fail, leaving him in utter darkness. What the man so captured thinks of this fate as he stares at his reflection we cannot, of course, ever know.
| i | “ee” |
| j | “h” (as in junta ); thus Grijalva is Gree- hal -vah |
| ll | “y” (as in mantilla ); thus castello is kass- tay -oh; exception is Mechella (Meh- chel -ah) |
| qu | “kw” (as in quick ); thus Mequel is Mrh- kwel |
| z | “dz”; thus Tazia is Tahd -zee-uh |
| When in doubt, use Spanish rules. | |
| adezo | “now”—ah- dayz -oh |
| Al-Fansihirro | “Art and Magic”; Tzaab term—Ahl-Fahn-see -hee -roh |
| alla prima | rapid painting completed in one session—ah-lah pree -mah |
| amaniaja | “tomorrow”—ah-man-nee- ah -hah |
| arborro | greenhouse, conservatory—ahr- bohr -oh |
| arcana | magic—ahr- cahn -ah |
| arrtio | “artist”— ahr -tee-oh |
| atelierro | “studio”—ah-tell-ee- air -oh |
| azulejo | rosette tiles; Grijalva symbol—ah-zoo- lay -ho |
| bassda | enough, silence, shut up— bahz -dah |
| borrazca | “storm”—bohr- azh -kah |
| camponesso, camponessa | “country person,” peasant—kam-po- nes -oh/ah |
| chassarro | “chase,” the hunt—shah- sahr -oh |
| chi’patro | “Who is the father?”, bastard—chee- pah -troh |
| chiaroscuro | the play of light and shadow in art—kee-are-oh- skoor -oh |
| chiros, chiras | “pig,” “sow”— chee -rohz/rahz |
| Confirmattio | “confirmation,” Proving—Kohn-feer- mah -tee-oh |
| ’cordo | “accord,” I agree, okay— kor -doh |
| curatorrio | “curator”—koor-ah- tohr -ee-oh |
| do’nado | “of nothing,” no problem—doh- nah -doh |
| dolcho, dolcha | “sweet”— dohl -choh/chah |
| duennia | chaperone—doo- en -ee-ah |
| eiha | “and so,” well, anyway— ay -ha |
| en verro | “in truth,” really—on vay -roh |
| estudo, estuda | “student”—ehs- too -doh/dah |
| filho do’canna | “son of a bitch”— feel -ho doh- kan -ah |
| grazzo | thanks, you’re welcome, and please— grahd -zoh |
| guivaerra | “jewel”—gwih- vay -rah |
| Il Aguo | “The Water”; Grijalva Master; counterparts are Il Seminno (Semen) and Il Sanguo (Blood)—Eel Ah -gwoh, Seh- mee -noh, Sahn -gwoh |
| Kita’ab | Tzaab holy book—Kih- tahb |
| lingua merditta | common vulgarisms, gutter language— leen -hwah mayr- dee -tah |
| lingua oscurra | “hidden language” of painting—oss- koor -uh |
| lustrosso | chandelier; lus- troh -so |
| Luza do’Orro | “Golden Light”; rare vision, genius— Loo -dzah doh’ Ohr-roh |
| mallica lingua | “wicked tongue,” sarcasm— mahl -lee-kah |
| mareia | unit of money—mah- ray -uh |
| marrido | “husband”—mah- ree -doh |
| Menninos do’Confirmattio | “Children born of Confirmattio” |
| moualimo | “teacher”—moo-ah- lee -moh |
| nazha coloare | “no color,” pencil drawing— nah -zhdh koh-loh- are -ay |
| Neosso do’Orro | “Gilded Youth”—Nee- oh -so doh- Or -ro |
| Neosso Irrado | “Angry Youth”—Ee- rahd -o |
| Nommo | “In the Name of the Golden Key”— |
| Chieva do’Orro | Nom -mo Chee- ay -vuh do- Or -ro |
| Nommo Matra ei Filho | “In the Name of the Mother and Son”— Mah -trah ay Feel -ho |
| Paraddio | “lighted walk”—Pah- rahd -ee-oh |
| Iluminadio | Ee-loo-mee- nahi -dee-oh |
| Paraddio Luminosso | “torch walk”—Loo-mee- noh -soh |
| Peintraddo Chieva | “Key Painting,” discipline painting—Payn- trah -doh Chee- ay -vuh |
| Peintraddo Memorrio | “Memorial Painting”—Meh- mohr -ee-oh |
| Peintraddo Morta | “Death Painting”— Mohr -tuh |
| Peintraddo Natalia | “Birthday Painting”—Nah- tahl -ee-uh |
| Peintraddo Sonho | “Dream Painting”— Sohn -ho |
| Qal Venommo | “Poison Pen,” graffiti—Kahl Ven- nohm -oh |
| reccolto | “harvest”—reh- kohl -toh |
| Saluto ei Suerta | “Health and Luck”—Sah- loo -toh ay Swear -tuh |
| Sihirro ei Sangua | “Magic and Blood”—Sih- heer -oh ay Sang -gwah |
| Tza’ab Rih | Tzah -ahb Ree |
| velurro | “velvet”—veh- loor -oh |
| Viehos Fratos | “Old Brothers,” Limner Council—Vee- ay -hohs Frah -tohs |
| zhi | “yes”—zhee |
| zia, zio | “aunt,” “uncle”— zhee -ah/oh |
| zocalo | square, plaza—zoh- kahl -oh |
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Russell (Agent Provocateur) Galen
Danny (Mr. International) Baror
Michael (Magic Fingers) Whelan
and
the fax machine at the Athens Gate Hotel, Athens, Greece
—
MR
various overnight mail services
—JR
Howard Kerr, for artistic advice
—
KE
“Rawn’s talent for lush descriptions and complex characterizations provides a broad range of drama, intrigue, romance and adventure.”
—Library Journal
THE GOLDEN KEY UNIVERSE
| THE GOLDEN KEY | 978-0-7564-0671-4 |
| THE DIVINER | 978-0-7564-0681-3 |
| ( coming August 2011 ) | |
| EXILES | |
| THE RUINS OF AMBRAI | 0-88677-668-6 |
| THE MAGEBORN TRAITOR | 0-88677-731-3 |
| DRAGON PRINCE | |
| DRAGON PRINCE | 0-88677-450-0 |
| THE STAR SCROLL | 0-88677-349-0 |
| SUNRUNNER’S FIRE | 0-88677-403-9 |
| DRAGON STAR | |
| STRONGHOLD | 0-88677-482-9 |
| THE DRAGON TOKEN | 0-88677-542-6 |
| SKYBOWL | 0-88677-595-7 |
| To Order Call: 1-800-788-6262 www.dawbooks.com DAW 33 | |
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