The Flying Dutchman, Published in Colliers Weekly, December 8, 1900/ Howard Pyle
For a different effort mood, I have chosen “The Flying Dutchman,” by the great American illustrator Howard Pyle. It depicts the captain of the legendary ghost ship, doomed to sail the seven seas forever without making port.
In Pyle’s illustration, the captain stands firmly on a slanting deck in stormy seas, arms folded across his chest. His cape billows in the wind. His yellowed eyes stare fixedly at the viewer. In the lower right-hand corner, three members of his ghostly crew also stare beseechingly at the viewer, their clothes in tatters.
The palette, the pose, and the expressions of the figures evoke a Spell Drive for me. What do you think?