Image of the Week: Medieval Palace
© D. Yael Bernhard
I'm posting early this week in order to announce my art studio sale this weekend. If you're local, you're invited! (See below for more information.) In addition to fine art, many original illustrations will be on display, including this colorful opening spread from Never Say a Mean Word Again, written by Jacqueline Jules, designed and illustrated by me, and published by Wisdom Tales Press in 2014. Several years later it was translated into Russian, and then republished by the educational Jewish publisher PJ Library.
This unique story of a Jewish boy and a Muslim boy takes place a thousand years ago in medieval Spain. It's based on a legend about Samuel HaNagid, a Jewish scholar, poet, and military leader who became the vizier to the caliph of Granada in what was considered by some historians to be the "golden age" of peace and prosperity among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. HaNagid is famously quoted as having said that instead of having a disrespectful subject punished for insulting him, he had "torn out his angry tongue and replaced it with a kind one instead" – in other words, drawn out the man's good will with acts of kindness, and made a friend of an enemy.
Samuel, the son of HaNagid in this picture book version, is rather clumsy. In the above scene, he's dazzled by the palace gardens, and not watching where he's going. With a turn of the page he quickly collides with Hamza, who is not inclined to forgive the vizier's son. Hamza's rejection only elicits more awkwardness from Samuel, which in turn sparks an angry reaction and mean words. The offended Samuel reports the crime to his father, who quizzically instructs his son to "see to it that Hamza never says a mean word to you again." Baffled by the shifting of responsibility onto the alleged victim, Samuel dares not disobey his father, and sets about trying to devise a way to force Hamza to be nice to him. By the third attempt it becomes clear that all Hamza needed was a playmate. By the end of the story, of course, the two boys become best friends.
This book won seven awards for its timeless message of non-violent conflict resolution – as well as its vivid characters, unexpected turns of plot, and unusual design, which draws heavily upon the graphic motifs of medieval art. I was like a kid in a candy shop working on this book, creating ornamental windows for text, curling stalks and stylized flowers to divide the pages, and little vignette landscapes of the Spanish countryside. I loved all of it, and worked up so many decorative designs that I was able to use each idea just once throughout the 34-page picture book.
As a multicultural illustrator, I've discovered many other places too: Prague, Japan, Nigeria, Cambodia, Kathmandu, Mexico City, Israel, and more – each with its own unique character, its architecture and skyline. It was my job to use imagery to evoke a sense of time and place for my young readers. Could I convey the feeling of yellow mist rising with the sun over the chocolate brown waters of the Amazon? Illustration is all about serving the viewer, in this case kids with brains like sponges. I've tried to help them discover the world we live in. I've been fortunate to learn a great deal myself along the way, often exploring subjects I never would have chosen had it not been for a book contract. How lucky was I, to be able to delve into such rich and varied subjects as part of my creative work.
These original illustrations will be among hundreds of works of art – both illustrations and fine art – on display this weekend at my art studio sale – Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th from 12-4pm. I'll be giving a talk about several works of art on both days at 2pm.
If you're in the area, please stop by and say hello! Contact me for more information.
A good week to all!
D Yael Bernhard
children's books • fine art • illustration
