Scorpio - October 23 - November 21

In classical myth the Scorpion was the revered slayer of Orion, the powerful warrior who had boasted that his strength was so great he was invincible to the mightiest creatures of the earth. Orion’s vulnerability was proven by the lowly but deadly Scorpion. The two constellations remain linked in combat in the heavens, directly opposing each other across the sky, so that Orion is said to flee in the west whenever his murderer rises in the east.

For many centuries prior to the Christian Era, Scorpio was the largest of the zodiacal figures, with its claws extending over the area now attributed to Libra, making Libra a fairly modern constellation. This has been offered as an argument that the earliest zodiac contained only six great constellations, of which Scorpio was one.

The Scorpion, as a constellation figure, has a great antiquity in Mesopotamia where it was viewed as a symbol of darkness and resilience. An emblem of autumn, it is found on Babylonian boundary stones dating to the 12th century BC. For later dwellers on the Euphrates it became symbolic of the decline of the Sun’s power after the autumnal equinox, then located within its stars. Its malignant influence was most readily seen in the stormy weather and early darkness that accompanied its rising, as witnessed in this passage from Aratus: “ storm-tossed at sea, when the Sun scorches the Bow, trust no longer in the night but put to shore in the evening. Of that season and that month let the rising of the Scorpion at the close of night be a sign to thee”.

Scorpio’s fundamental dynamics are then the essence of darkness. They are feminine, nocturnal, autumnal. They are also the essence of the scorpion. Dangerous, predatory and cunning.

Scorpio - Collectors  Edition on paper
image size aprox. 50 x 65 cm | 19.6 x 25.6 inch
Edition of 75

Scorpio - Collectors  Edition on paper (small)
image size aprox. 35 x 45 cm | 13.8 x 17.7 inch
Edition of 150

Scorpio - Luxury Edition on canvas
image size aprox. 90 x 70 cm | 35.4 x 27.5 inch
Edition of 25

Scorpio is a limited edition "Giclée" print of the original painting, made with archival pigment inks on heavy stock, natural white (not bleached) fine art etching paper. The matte etching paper nicely presents the brushstrokes and texture of the original painting.
All prints are signed and numbered by the original artist in the border beneath the image and come with a certificate of authenticity and an embossed stamp by the master printer.

Derived from the French, "giclée" means "sprayed" and is an advanced digital printmaking technology involving archival quality inks that are finely jet streamed onto fine archival papers. Giclee printing provides superior color accuracy and incredible detail over other modes of reproduction.

Giclee prints can be found in New York’s Metropolitan Museum as well as galleries and auction houses throughout the world.

This is a signed and numbered limited edition print from the original painting Scorpio by Jake Baddeley and is available in different sizes. It is printed on heavy quality 300 grams Hahnemuhle fine art paper and comes with a certificate of authenticity. Both the print and the certificate are numbered and signed by the original artist. Furthermore, the Regular Edition comes with an embossed logo of the Master Printer (Re-art in The Netherlands). The print does not come framed, the frames on the pictures here are for presentation purposes only.

Posters of this painting can be found in our Zazzle shop:
http://www.zazzle.com/thresholdeditions*