Hermann - Les Tours de Bois-Maury 11 (Assunta) Page 6

An incredible nocturnal-mood page by Hermann from my favourite series of his, Les Tours de Bois-Maury. Set during a key turning point in the history of Middle-Ages (just before the Sicilian Vespers in March 1282), Hermann manages to tie in this very violent period with one of his very rare (his only?) romantic stories...

Amidst the increasingly tense events, young knight Aymar de Bois-Maury briefly meets with local beautous noble girl, Assunta. It's love at first sight for both. And, despite all that conspires to separate them, they'll manage to find a way to escape together...

Their chance meeting appears on this very page, during an evening get-together of noblefolk where sides are more and more clearly taken.

However, Aymar and Assunta only have eyes for each other...

In one of his first directly-painted stories, Hermann not only perfectly conjures the ambiguous ambiance of the evening, but he also orchestrates a subtle ballet of moves and expressions, letting us live clearly through the simultaneous events of the impending rebellion and the blooming of the romance.

He takes full advantage of his colors to showcase young Aymar completely starstruck with his eyes shining or dazzled (depending how you look at it..) on Panel 4.

But it's only when I looked closely at Panels 5 and 6 that I realized that each of the lover's face was reflected in the eyes of the other, in true Italian Rennaissance fashion (see close-up).

That is really masterful!...