Ricketts and Shannon as Medieval Saints, E. Dulac, 1920.

​Edmund Dulac, a famous British book illustrator (Inferno, Jane Eyre, Tempest, etc.) here cheerfully makes a double portrait of two friends and fellow artists he dresses as Dominican friars. Of course, he signals, monks and committed couples like Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon both share lifelong vows. Meeting as art students, they shared over 40 years together. Oscar Wilde called their home “the one house in London where you will never be bored.” Dulac presents the men in the flat, elongated style of Gothic figures, feet in Y’s, so often found in medieval churches. Don’t their deadpan expressions add to the fun? Now, can you find the bluebird (imagination), peacock feather (aestheticism), quail (loyalty), and hare (same-sex desire)? Extra credit if you can explain the bat!