THE PIPER OF DREAMS, 1915 by

Estella Canziani

Nothing like fairy tales to take us into an imaginary world where we can escape to obtain solace in times of stress and unrest. This might be the reason of my attraction to this painting when as we- globally- are experiencing the uncertainty that social political disturbances is creating.

We know about Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, all stories that are full of magic, wicked characters, love stories, and the triumph of good over evil. It has captivated our imagination for centuries. But the original versions fo these popular fairy tales were much darker in nature. Originating in European folk stories, designed, very often, to be parables with a moral twist, featuring painful punishments, sadistic parents and children being devoured by wild animals- no the kind of bedtime stories... 

Within that context. fairy painting unfolded as escapism for Victorian adults, mostly in the UK. But now... let focus on 'The piper of Dreams' 1915 fairy painting.

Canziani (188-1964) was born in London, a painter who worked as a book illustrator and wrote articles in Folklore, the journal of the Folklore Society. She was the daughter of painter Louisa Starr, who herself produced 'fantasy' paintings. Canziani lived her whole life in the same house but travelled broadly publishing few travel books based on her trips. 

I became aquatinted with her work when reading The Other Book- a Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World by Jennifer Higgie (2024). Higgie elavorates on the intense challenges artists, like Canziani, faced during WWI and on the role that fairy painting occupied during those days.

During WWI (1914-1918), fairy painting resurged as a way to escape the horrors of the war and as a symbol of hope for a society dealing with the trauma of war. It is understandable that Canziani fairy painting 'The piper of Dreams' - originally titled 'Where the little things of the wood live unseen' became very popular at the time- it sold on the opening day of the Royal Academy exhibition and hundreds of thousands of copies of the picture were sold the next few years and posted to troops across the world (britishfairies.wordpress.com)- it provided some form of belief and a bright spot in a world in crisis with so much uncertainty.

Higgie explains about the painting "gently posits a psychic space that was desperately needed in 1915. It's a safe image ... The piper is the face of socially acceptable escapism- hope visualized as a woodland populated by mystical beings, nature a place of refuge and consolation..."

So... fairy painting like 'The piper of Dreams' provides a path to escape into a world of our imagination. What provides you with the necessary escapism from current stress and unrest?...  Would love to ready your thoughts in the comments section below.