Diabolic Beauty of the Mind

[oilan]

“‘By the way!’

‘What is it, father?’

‘Didn’t you have a close friend?’

‘Yes, Courfeyrac.’

‘What has become of him?’

‘He’s dead.’

‘That’s just as well.’”

–

(Happy Barricade Day 2019 - Part 2)

[darthfar]

[Insert appropriate greeting] Barricade Day to you all. Here’s a little, er, early barricade cheer for our fandom holiday. ;) 

Hey, look! It’s a comic about someone who lived! For a change! That’s good, isn’t it? ……. ;) Anyway, this exists because of something @pilferingapples​ once wrote about how it was upsetting her that Marius was stuck in recovery for so long, by the time he was back up and running, “everyone else is long buried […] (bodies, June heat, etc) […] and after six months, surely everyone’s families/friends/etc would have been through their houses and cleaned up and cleared out personal belongings; landlords aren’t going to keep a tenant’s room as  memorial. […] The Amis aren’t just dead, from Marius’ POV; they’ve been erased.” And such a soulful, poignant lament simply begs to be illustrated, does it not? [Pilferingapples, I don’t know whether to use “credit” or “blame” in attributing this to you… ;) Take your pick!]

[Mind you, this is still probably a nicer alternative to what I’d originally had planned, before I changed my mind a little over two weeks ago… Which is not to say that it’ll never see the light of day either…]

Also - gasp! - Cosette openly displaying affection in public? The scandal! You will forgive me my artistic licence - I’d have drawn them in the privacy of their own garden, only it wouldn’t been as dramatic as having the Luxembourg for a backdrop. (And on that note, I couldn’t find enough information on what the gardens looked like back in the day - save that the statues came later -, so you will please pretend with me that it’s well, whatever I drew it to be, LOL).

Technical note: In case you were wondering about the weird size of page 3, it’s that way because, if it had been printed out, the page would’ve been rotated 90 degrees anti-clockwise.

[Yup, drew my fingers half off. Again. What was it you said again, Pilf? “You are an Icarus flying too close to the sun on wings of ambition and highly questionable time management XD”… Er. Yeah. At least I get a little credit for managing to finish it by 5th June this year? Heheh.] —————————————————-

And! Shall we make this a little more fun? The first person to send me an Ask note naming the character I’ve managed to kill off the most times gets a drawing of their choice. ;)

[zenthisoror]

09/06/2019 ~ part 1: enjolras could be terrible

Inked the sketches I’ve done so far. Set myself the challenge of drawing the whole scene with Enjolras and Le Cabuc at the barricade to practice arting~ I’m expecting this to be part 1 of….3? Any comments appreciated!

[hasharakl]

[deboracabral]

What horizon can be seen from the top of the barricade 

I’ve been meaning to draw this for literally two years :D Based on Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog by Caspar Friedrich.

[bewareofthecar1966]

‪victor hugo, in the middle of a plot point: hold on. you know what time it is?‬

‪[turns, reveals the back of his frock coat embroidered with “TIME FOR VICTOR’S OPINION”]‬

[wild-oats-and-cornflowers]

i have no excuses for this tbh

[swutol-sang-scopes]

4.1.6: Enjolras et ses lieutenants

I am going to restrain myself from blathering on about Enjolras and/or Grantaire again in this chapter. So… random observations.

I am intrigued now as to the role Masonic lodges played in revolutions.

‘Il serait urgent d’aller leur parler un peu et ferme.’ – ‘It is urgent to go and talk to them a little and firmly.’ And yet Enjolras still sends Grantaire, who is incapable of saying anything less than a page-long paragraph at a time… Enjolras really is doing his best to give him a chance, isn’t he.

[pilferingapples]

YES. YES HE IS. Grantaire, and a bunch of people (not just Barriere guys) who aren’t totally committed, and there’s the thing about MARIUS, and and and. I think one of the main points of this chapter is to point out just how much credit Enjolras is willing to grant people, when he’s got the chance, how inclusive he chooses to be when he’s got a free choice. Because, well, Symbol of the Ideal, and Charming Young Man, and also because if we don’t get this now, the contrast later won’t matter half so much.

‘Tu ne t’attendais pas au double-six. Si je l’avais mis au commencement, cela changeait tout le jeu.’ – ‘You weren’t expecting the double six. If I had placed it at the beginning, that would have changed the whole game.’ Ouch the painful irony. Grantaire’s game of dominos is re-enacting the issues that Enjolras has just been thinking about with regard to the revolution. Enjolras has just warned his friends that they must be prepared and not be taken by surprise. Enjolras has just been thinking about the danger of meeting set-backs: ‘Quand les faits, prodromes d’une espèce de maladie sociale latente, se meuvent lourdement, la moindre complication les arrête et les enchevêtre’ – ‘When facts, symptoms of a kind of latent social malady, move themselves heavily, the least complication halts and entangles them’. And Grantaire is (more or less) unwittingly making a mockery of all these concerns through his re-enactment of them in the frivolous arena of the game of dominos – and by doing so is actually being the complication that may well endanger Enjolras’ plans.

..OH WOW. I have never actually seen the game broken down as a reflection of the earlier chapters. Do you think it works on a move-by-move level?

[swutol-sang-scopes]

Answering that question would require me to understand how to play dominoes, and I’m afraid I don’t. To be honest, I struggle to even tell who’s doing and saying what in the dialogue at the end of this chapter.

I did sort of wonder, though, if that might not be deliberate. We have been told the reason why someone needs to go and speak to the people at the Barrière du Maine in the first place:

‘Ils s’éteignent. Ils passent leur temps à jouer aux dominos.’ - ‘They are going out. [More light metaphors, by the by! Not helped by my clumsy translation.] They spend their time playing dominoes.’ So they need someone to shake them out of that and show them something different. Grantaire’s failure is underlined by the way that he won’t do this - he chooses not to stand out, but to blend in. His unwillingness to rock the boat in this way is very much in keeping with all his speeches about the futility of revolution, how it’s best to keep your head down and out of trouble than to make a stand, draw attention to yourself and risk your neck.

And all of this is added to by the image of the 'brume’ - 'haze, fog’ in the room. It shows how Grantaire is here blended in and obscured; we can barely tell who’s talking because all we get are voices through the fog. The light at the Barrière du Maine is going out and Grantaire is not trying to rekindle it and drive away the fog, but is instead choosing to lose himself in it.

But this also ties into the wider-reaching clarity imagery going on with Grantaire in the novel. We are told right back in his introduction that he is drawn to Enjolras 'sans qu'il s’en rendît clairement compte’ - 'without him being clearly aware of it’. He embraces this obscurity: ’Sa joie était de voir aller et venir ces silhouettes dans les fumées du vin.’ - 'His joy was to see these silhouettes coming and going in the fumes of the wine.’ He’s not seeing the Amis properly because they are only silhouettes, because he is always keeping that fog of alcohol and not-caring between him and their beliefs.

(And we have just been told a little earlier in the same chapter - in no uncertain terms - that this losing oneself in the fumes is dangerous. The sense is different, but I’m sure there’s a link to this description of Combeferre: 'Une clarté troublée par de la fumée, un progrès acheté par de la violence, ne satisfaisaient qu’à demi ce tendre et sérieux esprit.’ - 'A clarity troubled by fumes, progress bought with violence, only half-satisfied this tender and serious spirit.’ Here the fumes are evidently supposed to recall some kind of smoke of destruction, but that only serves as a reminder that Grantaire’s not caring isn’t just a lack of action, because even simply failing to act is an implicit acceptance of what people like Combeferre are fighting against.)

It’s only at his death that he breaks through this: 'l'effacement de l'ivresse, sorte de buée qui aveuglait le cerveau, se dissipe, et fait place à la claire et nette obsession des réalités’ - 'the erasure of drunkenness, a sort of vapour that blinded the brain, dissipates and gives way to the clear and defined obsession of realities’.

Oops sorry I pulled a Grantaire again.

[perennial-lee]

Liberty leading Les Misérables (based on that one painting by Delacroix)

A melodramatic rendition of a melodramatic painting with some melodramatic characters.

Ayyy also, fun fact: people think that Liberty Leading the People had a big impact on Victor Hugo when he was drafting the brick. For instance, the kid with the two guns on the right supposedly inspired him to write Gavroche.

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 16 December 1871 in France, teacher and revolutionary Louise Michel was put on trial in the wake of the crushing of the Paris commune, where the workers and soldiers had taken over. She was charged with trying to overthrow the government, encouraging citizens to arm themselves, possession and use of weapons amongst other offences. Exiled to a prison island, she spent four months in a cage on a prison ship. She became a national hero, and was granted amnesty in 1880. When a man tried to assassinate her, Louise defended him in court, claiming “he was misled by an evil society”. Read a short biography of her here: https://ift.tt/2SSApZL https://ift.tt/2CgPTBm

[klayr-de-gall]

Triumvirate | WIP

I feel like showing a little Work in Progress of our three favorite Revolutionaries! It’s my first try to draw Courf and Ferre so please be patient with me! <3

After having to watch 15 Documentaries in 5 days in university my head was filled with so much white static, I wasn’t even sure I was ever able to think on my own, ever XD But a good nights sleep and a day of screenplay-writing fixed that and so I felt inspired tonight!

[oilan]

Inktober Day 22:

Box of cartridges? Sword cane? Hat and purse? Courfeyrac’s ready to go!

[boopliette]

look at these best buds👏👏

[alicedrawslesmis]

Inktober #6

I left the best for later because I drew this actually on the second day but I thought it was too good for second day

The Triumvirate Ft. Enjolras finally learning to tuck his hair out of his face

[oilan]

Inktober Day 9:

“A cry was raised, ‘He’s the leader! It was he who slew the gunner. Just as well he’s taken up position over there. He can stay there. Let’s shoot him where he stands!’

‘Go ahead and shoot me,’ said Enjolras.

And flinging aside the stump of his rifle and folding his arms, he offered them his chest.”

[littlesmartart]

tired: Monsieur “uptight no-funsies eye-roll I-Only-Care-About-Revolution” Enjolras and this guy who he can barely tolerate Monsieur “yolo swag I-Live-To-Fuck-And-Party” de Courfeyrac are apparently best friends for no reason I can find

wired: enjolras and courfeyrac are besties 4eva because they are both MASSIVE FUCKING NERDS with terrible senses of humour who are super super passionate about social justice and get in all sorts of ridiculous hi-jinks because combeferre has about 65% of the triumvirate’s impulse control :)

[baronmpontmercy]

Why so sketchy, Feuilly? (Probably some top secret Abaissé stuff)

[pilferingapples]

“(Dumas) returned to Paris at one stretch. His son met him at the station and arranged to take the traveler of sixty-two years, who might well be worn out, to his own house. “No,” said Dumas, “I want to see Gautier!” And although it was ten o'clock at night, he dragged his son to Neuilly. In front of the house of the good Théo he made such a hullabaloo as only he knew how to make. A window opened. “It’s Dumas the father and Dumas the son!” he called. “But we’re all in bed!” “Why, you lazy-bones! Am I in bed? Come, get along! Everybody get up.” Gautier himself came to open the door, in velvet trousers, a purple blouse, and slippers. The candles were lighted and everybody began to talk. Dumas, fresh from Italy, could not wait to embrace his old friend; he talked of old memories, of heroic days… . At four o'clock in the morning, Gautier, worn out with too much laughing, decided to put his guests out.”

—

The Fourth Musketeer

…everyone that tried to convince me the 1830 Romantic Squad turned on each other owes me money.