Die Zauberflöte
by Kristin Serafini
acrylic on gallery canvas
24″ x 48″
$1200 SOLD

This is Pamina, daughter of the infamous Queen of the Night. She is holding the Magic Flute. Her mother gave it to Tamino, a wandering prince from another realm sent to rescue her from Sarastro. She is dressed in an initiate’s robe, and is about to go through several trials before she can join the Temple of Wisdom. I tried to give her the look of someone who is weighing her future – testing her strength. Unlike Konstanze, who is facing away from the viewer, and waiting for someone to come and rescue her in Serail, Pamina faces the viewer with a confident, thoughtful stance. She is about to discover that she is fully capable of rescuing herself, thank you very much.

The text, in case you couldn’t decode it, says “Zauberflöte” in big purple letters, and the names of the composer (Mozart) and the libretist (Schikaneder) in teal. They are scattered vertically down the left side – Matrix style – and are meant to look a little like ancient runes. This opera is full of Masonic symbolism, and Mozart himself was so fond of secret codes that he even learned sign language for the deaf.

On a humorous note, Gabriel dubbed the magic sparkles that surround the instrument “flute flies”. Ha ha.

-Kristin Serafini