This ambiguous, almost fairy-tale-like portrait depicts a face looking downwards. The closed or downcast eyes lend the figure an introspective and vulnerable air. The character appears to be completely absorbed in their own thoughts.
What immediately catches the eye are the leaves surrounding the head, which almost take the form of a crown. Combined with the title Fable #1, this takes on a symbolic complexity. Are the leaves a crown, or rather a form of camouflage or protection? They may also refer to nature, growth or perhaps even a burden. The painting offers no definitive answer and leaves room for interpretation.
The images Jan De Maesschalck uses are often based on fragments from photographs, the media, art history or his own surroundings, which he then transforms. Here too, the image appears to be more than a traditional portrait. It is rather a psychological image, in which the boundary between human, nature and imagination becomes blurred.