Fortunino Matania - The Magic Sword (1927)

Gorgeous chiaroscuro piece by Matania. Done for the February 1927 London Magazine story, The Sword of Magic by F. Britten Austin. This piece is a bit of a curiosity as it the published version shows a larger scene. The original has a thin margin around it but no sign of erasure along the left side. I suspect the publisher may have asked for Matania to enlarge the piece and he did so by simply doing a second piece that was then married to the first in the layout process. The full drawing shows a fairly stark break in continuity of major elements down the center. This original is signed in the lower left by Matania which doesn't show in the published version. Likely it was added later. See additional pic for the published illustration. (courtesy of page 170, Drawing From History)

Mysteries aside, Mantania poses a powerful woman in torchlight, having apparently dispatched several captors, training her sword and attention to the last. Matania's lighting choice is perfectly suited to the drama of the tableau. The piece is rendered in inks, pencils, washes and gauche. Typical Matania brilliance!