Artistic Easter Eggs: Raphael and Matisse

One of the delights of writing a long series is the greater potential for including references to earlier events. For Harlequin's Shadow, a story that concerns a treasure trove of plundered art, opportunities to plant artistic Easter eggs abound. Two of the largest eggs are for Raphael and Matisse.

Warning for minor spoilers to Harlequin's Shadow and canon episodes

Neal's fondness for Italian Renaissance art in our stories has its origin in the pilot episode. Displayed in his prison cell are drawings he made in the style of Da Vinci. In canon, the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino first appears on the scene in the flashback episode "Forging Bonds." When Neal attends a charity event hosted by Vincent Adler, he and Kate meet in front of Raphael's painting St. George and the Dragon. Sparks fly as they discuss their admiration for the artist. Later in that same episode, Neal admits to having stolen a Raphael painting to get Kate's attention. Eventually we discover that the painting he stole was St. George and the Dragon. That painting plays a key role in the season three episode "Judgment Day."

In Caffrey Conversation, Penna introduced St. George and the Dragon in Caffrey Disclosure. At the time, we'd already decided that the painting would figure into the Klaus Mansfeld arc. Penna paid homage to its canon significance when she had Neal mention that he thought about stealing it to win Kate back. A twist in our series is that it's Klaus who steals the painting in an attempt to attract Neal's notice. Two other Raphaels have figured in my stories: a drawing of a head of an apostle in the story Raphael's Dragon, and the painting Portrait of a Young Man. The latter is believed to be a self-portrait. It was plundered by the Nazis and is still missing.

Henri Matisse is another artist associated with Neal. In the season one episode "Bad Judgment," he told El about a Matisse which he admired on the second floor of the Met near the fire escape. I planted a nod to that scene in The Woman in Blue, when Neal sketches in front of a Matisse still life at the Met. In "Copycat Caffrey," Professor Oswald had stolen Matisse's View of Saint-Tropez. At the end of the episode, Alex Hunter made off with the painting. Now in Harlequin's Shadow, another Matisse—Woman with a Violin—is the subject of much debate. It's on the shipping manifest. Did Bergmann give it to his wife along with the Braque? Where is it now? The hunt continues, and with it the possibility of discovering yet more Easter eggs.

Next week I'll shine the spotlight on Degas and Vermeer.

Harlequin's Shadow on Archive of Our Own
Harlequin's Shadow on FanFiction