"Please remain still, my lord. It is rather difficult to capture the majesty of your countenance if you continue to scratch yourself so. Perfect! Now hold that pose for just a few seconds more if you please. And there you've gone and done it again. Might I suggest you pay a visit to the apothecary? He may have several effective remedies for lice, especially if you find your incessant squirming as bothersome as I do…"
- —Gottlieb Toman, Painter, prior to his execution[1a]
An artist of the Old World
An artist is an artisan who creates works of fine art, including painters, sculptors, and poets. Most artists start as apprentices to masters of their chosen craft. The most successful masters have wealthy patrons and form their own schools of artists who work in their style, plying their art in the Old World's most fashionable salons.[1a]
However, the vast majority of artists never such success. Some make a living working as satirical cartoonists for Altdorf broadsheets, forensic sketch artists for watch stations, or even art forgers. However, Imperial society has little appreciation for the vast majority of its artists.[1a]
Artists often find themselves on the road, be they in search of a new benefactor or simply inspiration. Temples and abbeys often commission the creation of frescoes and other religious artworks. Artists will come from far and wide to gain one of these lucrative commissions.[1a]
Chaos Art[]
"Here in Nuln, art is not just décor; it’s an expression of one’s commitment to beauty and the finer things. Even the poor keep something in their hovels, some design or image that evokes the imagination and takes the mind beyond the circumstances of their station. In my opinion, art is integral to understanding the Human experience."
- —Luigi Marcosso, Tilean Merchant[4a]
There are two general theories regarding art. That which captures the surrounding world is thought to honour the gods' work, but those pieces that create something new, fusing images and concepts, bringing to life fantasy vistas and mythological landscapes are dangerous, often believed to be signs of Chaos' influence. Of course, many great artists have sought to capture the spirit of Sigmar on canvas, or woven a tapestry to record the historical wonders of an important period, and those pieces are regarded with the highest praise. But the strange and unusual, with no real world correlations, are products of Chaos.[4a]
Works of Chaos art are blessedly rare, made more so by the efforts of the witch hunters and the sanctioned religious cults in the Empire. Beyond the borders of Sigmar's realm, the other nations of Men are less vigilant in their determination to locate and destroy these items. Hence, for those who know where to look, there is always something of value to those who dabble in Daemonology.[4a]
There is a narcotic powder abroad in the mortal world, known variously as the "Black Snuff," "Dream Dust" or simply "The Dust." Snorted in the same manner as common snuff, it is said to produce a feeling of euphoria, coupled with hallucinatory visions of strange and unknown worlds. As such, its use is most widespread by those in search of inspiration: poets, artists, musicians and other such decadents. But it is inspiration bought at a heavy price, including likely damnation.[3b]
Painters[]
"The manifesto of the New Macabrism is to seek out those hidden horrors that lurk beneath the surface of things and accurately portray them in all their malignity."
- —Nikolai Kimt[3]
Even in times of war, painters like Pico Giacometti immortalised the horrors of the ruined city of Mordheim in the hopes of earning some coin.[7a]
A painter is a creative artist in the medium of painting. Their work can sometimes attract unwanted attention, as in the case of the Tilean Marco Giannetti and Nikolai Kimt, two proponents of the "New Macabrist" school.[3a]
Kimt in particular was forced to leave the Empire for more liberal climes after his claims that his pictures were drawn from life provoked the ire of Templar Witch Hunters and the Imperial artistic establishment alike. Both painters immortalised horrors on canvas that shouldn't exist, such as Skaven.[3a]
The "Realistic" style is a technique currently very popular in Tilea. One painting of this genre is hung in Versammlung palace in Nuln. The scene depicts a brutal attack by Skaven, commemorating the dark times after the Black Plague of 1111 IC. The painter is unknown.[8a]
Poets[]
"Your eyes shine like the stars, and a word from your lips is as the singing of nightingales."
"Why is it always stars? What's wrong with pools of limpid water? Or jewels? But no, always stars."
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator who composes poems, or they may also perform their art to an audience in a spoken-word performance.[5a]
The work of a poet is essentially one of communication, expressing ideas either in a literal sense, such as communicating about a specific event or place or using metaphors to highlight their larger point.[5a]
Minstrels[]
Minstrels, also called bards, are wandering musicians, storytellers and entertainers who travel the roads of the Old World bringing their songs and entertainment to those who desperately need it.[6a]
The Hall of Minstrels in Brionne is the most important centre for these entertainers in the world of Mallus. It stands on a small prominence in the southern quarter of that Bretonnian city, and is surrounded by a garden. The building itself is circular, built of white stone, and home to an auditorium with flawless acoustics. Minstrels can be found performing there at any time of the day or night.[5a]
Notable Artists[]
"Haven’t you heard? The great Gottio doesn't do portraits any more. He is an artist, and artists are supposed to show truth in their work. The trouble is, people don't want the truth. They don't like it. That fool Lorenzo Lupo certainly didn't, when he commissioned the great Gottio to paint a portrait of his wife."
- Giovanni Gottio - The Lahmian Vampire Lady Khemalla's last portrait was made by Giovanni Gottio, a Tilean painter. He was taken to one of her abandoned villas in the hills above Trantio where he completed his commission and discovered her true nature. As a gift for his masterpiece, Lady Khemalla made him drink her blood as a gift for his portrait "The Unchanging Lady," extending his life by several years.[2a]
- da Venzio - The painter da Venzio lived three hundred years ago in the 23rd century IC and his monumental frescoes decorating the ceiling of the great Temple of Shallya in Remas are still one of the great wonders of the Old World. He hwas reputed to have lived for over a century -- blessed by the goddess of mercy, many said, in reward for the work he had done in her great temple. During his lifetime Da Venzio also produced a portrait of the Lahmian Vampire Lady Khemalla which portrayed her as a beguiling angel of darkness. This painting was a blasphemous twin to the images of the blessed goddess of mercy he had immortalised upon the temple ceiling in Remas.[2a]
- Dari - The mad Estalian genius Darì had a distinctive Chaos-tainted artistic style. His work was condemned as heretical two hundred years ago and is still banned throughout the Empire to this day.[2a]
- Fra' Litti - Fra' Litti was a painter who lived more than two or three thousand years ago. There are only eight known Litti paintings still in existence, all of them in the possession of the richest merchant princes of Tilea who competed with each other in bitterly-fought bidding wars to purchase only the rarest and most exquisite works of art. The Lahmian Vampire Lady Khemalla was said to possess a ninth and until now unknown Litti. If this was true, the painting's potential value is truly incalculable.[2a]
- Bardovo - Bardovo was a painter who lived more than a thousand years ago. His epic depiction of Marco Colombo's "discovery" of Lustria spawned a whole school of lesser talented imitators. Bardovo lived long enough to paint not just the portrait of the legendary explorer but also that of his merchant prince great-grandson. Bardovo also made a portrait of Lady Khemalla, which showed the Vampire as a lonely, spectral figure standing against a backdrop of a corpse-strewn battlefield.[2a]
- Il Ratzo - Il Ratzo is a mysterious painter whose identity is unknown, and who some historians now whisper may not even have been fully Human.[2a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 1a: pg. 70
- 2: Inferno 21
- 2a: Portrait of my Undying Lady (Short Story) by Gordon Rennie
- 3:The Loathsome Ratmen and All Their Vile Kin (Background Book)
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: Tomes of Corruption (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 7
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Knights of the Grail (RPG)
- 5a: pp. 62-63
- 6: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 6a: pg. 78
- 7: Town Cryer 6
- 7a: pg. 28
- 8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Forges of Nuln (RPG)
- 8a: pg. 17