It will show your progress

by MossDweller

Summary:

The Primarch Sanguinius keeps examples of his sons' work in his collection.

Notes:

• For i_cant_say.

From the Primarch Sanguinius' private collection, likely prepared for transmission to select brothers.

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Dakhaen 844.M30

 

As with many early works, I had to save this one from the wrathful hand of its creator.

Many of my sons -quick to anger as they often are- have reacted with frustration when their first cautious forays into an art has not turned out on par with established masters or with the idea in their minds. Having a clear vision is as an indication of a desire to create, and as such a good thing, and it is also important to see examples of what art can be. However, at a stage where the artists’ skill level is not enough to match those examples it can lead to an unfortunate perfectionism, and make them inclined to destroy their works to hide perceived failures. Especially averse are they, to allowing me to see their imperfect crafts, and this artist begged me to simply destroy this piece once I had taken it from him. In spite of his chagrin, I know that it is good for the legion to keep their old works, so that they may clearly see the progress they make.

In addition, I find many notable details in this piece that makes me glad I saved it. Please note that in spite of the artist’s inexperience, the armour depicted still show that this scene takes place when Mk II was in the process of being replaced with Mk III, with some warriors wearing pieces of different sets. A similar amount of detail can be hinted at on the bolters as well, though the thickness of the paint applied obscures most of it. This shows that while untrained, the artist still adds natural and identifiable detail to those things that he is intimately familiar with, such as armour.

In the same vein, I also want to draw attention to the haunting eyes in the pile of dead xenos that we all stand on. They are added casually as part of the background, which suggests to me that the warrior finds the sight commonplace, but also that he takes note of dead eyes around him enough to add them to his work.

Effort has clearly gone into the rendering of my face, which has been overpainted and redone numerous times until it was beyond saving. I remain the most popular subject of the legion, though I have noticed that these pieces are also deemed to be the most inappropriate for my eyes. I do want to start encouraging my sons to broaden the motif choices, but at this stage I suspect it is better that I leave it alone. I do not want to discourage any creation they wish to do in this critical time, though I do think a greater variety would be good for them.

Those concerns aside, there are some parts of this depiction I found interesting. In this case, it appears as though one layer of blond hair has been overpainted with black, as though the artist changed his mind as to how he sees me. As far as I am aware, my people on Baal generally see a winged man of the desert, with dark skin and hair, while the citizen of the Imperium usually see a golden angel. The overpaint suggest that this artist has seen me as both. The pattern on the wings are even more interesting, as while I do know that some of my brothers have seen this, but among humans and legionaries it is rare. In nearly every other case, my wings are described or depicted as pure white.

It is still too early to say what manner of art this legionary will favour, but I do hope that he continues in the visual arts for long enough that I may see him develop.

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Dakhaen 887.M30

 

I do like to keep these pictures together, as the scene and composition are so similar that the improvement of the artist is made extremely clear. While individual tiles cannot be made out on this pict due to the size of this piece, the original is a mosaic which adorns a section of corridor leading towards the embarkation decks. If you were to inspect the work in person, the careful manner in which the tiles have been places to express form would be more evident. There is great improvement in the warrior's technical skill such as the use of colour and understanding of form, but more importantly in artistic confidence. This work is publicly displayed in a large form on our flagship, with no attempts made to hide it from me or anyone. Besides the changes evident to the artist himself, this later piece also shows some changes that have taken place within the legion since then. All warriors are now in full Mk III plate, and in contrast to the earlier work, where the shift from Revenant Legion to Blood Angels was but recent, now warriors are depicted with their battle-plate and weapon casings decorated, as has become commonplace.

One thing of note is that the warriors on either side of me are not depicted as Legion champions or men of greater rank as is often the case with public murals. Rather, I stand surrounded by battle brothers, the soldiers that make up the greater force of the Legion. Even the man tentatively reaching towards my hand is not marked as being of any greater importance as the others. They are all simply my sons, and it is a choice I can appreciate. The artist has again decided to depict me with black hair, and I have even kept the wing pattern! It is fainter that depicted in the original piece, perhaps in compromise with the more common depiction, or in order to match the pelt.

We are still depicted standing atop a mountain of slain xenos enemies, thought the haunting eyes are omitted from this version. This is a public display piece, intending to communicate the glory of the Legion, so this makes sense. The gruesomeness of battle and of being followed by the hollow eyes of the slain, even inhuman slain, still show up occasionally in the legionary's personal work, which validates my opinion that space must always be made for making art that is not intended for a specific audience. A piece like this is not here to be emotionally honest, it is meant to display the Legion in a place of glory. I am more careful with the manner in which I show the works when they are personal works. All this notwithstanding, I think the clear effort, commitment and craft placed into this mural show the extent that that the creation of the arts has become part of the Legion, and it lifts my heart so see it and the distinct improvement the artist has made.