Circa 1956

Circa 1956

5 color etchings with text by Fanny Kelk. Edition: 10 copies (numbered I-X) & 99 copies (numbered 1-99).
These etchings were made after a series of five paintings on the same theme done between 1975-78.
Size paper: 71 x 59,5 cm

Sectors are named after Spanish Flamenco dances: Caña, Malagueña, Soleares, Alegría, Fandango, Sevillana, Siguiriyas, Tarantos. The Triana-Group is a still existing Flamenco group in Seville.

The Crow is one of the 24 songs from Winterreise by Franz Schubert. It's a tribute to the poet Wilhelm Müller on whose poems Winterreise is based. On the back of the painting is says gewidmet Wilhelm Müller (dedicated to Wilhem Müller).

The Elf King king is a ballad written by the German poet, Goethe, in 1782. Put to music by Schubert in 1815. It tells the sad tale of a father riding home with his son in his arms (presumably the boy is ill). The boy sees feverish images of the Elven king, imagery of death, who tries to lure him to the 'other side'. The boy frantically cries out to his father for help. The Elven king is relentless and threatens to take the boy by force. When the father reaches his destination the boy has passed away.
Constant also made an etch of the Erlkönig.

The fête champêtre, translating to ‘pastoral festival’ or ‘country feast,’ refers to a garden party, popular at the French court in the 18th century. It became the subject of a genre of paintings by the same name, that shows well-dressed individuals enjoying refreshments and entertainment in a pastoral landscape.

These paintings were sometimes also called ‘fête galante’ when depicting a graceful, usually aristocratic scene or ‘concert champêtre’ when depicting a musical scene, such as in Constant’s watercolour. Though Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) is often considered the inventor of the genre, Titian’s (attributed) Le Concert Champêtre, is often regarded as an early predecessor.