The Clever Peasant Girl Print

In many old stories the protagonist is set an impossible task: to arrive at the riddler's door neither riding nor walking, neither clothed nor naked, and carrying a gift that is not a gift. This motif has long fascinated me in its conjuring of the magic of the in-between, and it feels old, like a spell that affords you access to another realm, and speaks a truth that is hard to speak in full daylight.

We see these impossible tasks being set in the medieval narrative of Solomon and Marcolf. Marcolf is a kind of wise fool who enters into a riddling contest with the king. The solution can be seen depicted in various examples of medieval marginal art.

These impossible tasks also crop up in the folktale sometimes called 'The Clever Peasant Girl' where she takes on the wise fool role, solves the riddle, and gains the king's hand in marriage as a reward. (Her clever tricks don't end there, mind you).

The answer to this riddle, of course, is to ride a goat backwards, with one foot touching the ground, clad in only a net, and carrying the gift of a hare which will leap away as soon as it is given.

This is the subject of this painting - The Clever Peasant Girl.

It is not so often that we see female fools, and I wanted here to emphasise her portal-opening powers. I was interested particularly in the numinous magic that fizzes about in these boundary-straddling moments. Here I have honoured this wily, lowly character as holy, asking important questions about challenging perceived authority and turning things on their heads when it is necessary.