Art Rec: Languid

[chapbook.livejournal.com]

Title: Languid
Artist: Hallor
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: This was a… nice surprise. Had told myself I wasn’t going to do fanart in a while, but then a certain picture by Geroges Barbier came along and I simply had to paraphrase it. No apologies.

Reccer's comments: You might think this striking, sensual artwork was created as part of the Let's Draw Sherlock challenge, but Hallor drew this back in 2010, as an homage to the 1920s print by Barbier, which you can see here. In my head!canon this is part of BreathedOut's Unreal Cities 'verse, but I could also imagine this scene in another AU set in the 1920s or 1930s. It's the little touches that really make this stand out for me: how using the wallpaper of 221B Baker St. is also a callout to the original print, the reference to the "purple shirt of sex"--also echoing Barbier--in the color of Sherlock's drapery, and the eyes made up with kohl (I adore that both men are made up this way!).

In conclusion, I hope you find this piece of historical art edifying.