L’Enigme – Bastille Day Tribute (Nice, 2016)
by Elaine Weiner-Reed


On the Promenade des Anglais, where I had strolled in joy some eight months before, a crazed truck driver plowed through the crowds killing 85 souls and injuring hundreds. And the world turned on its axis once more..., Atlas weeping along with us.


My painting is a tribute to the souls who were lost to us that day and to all the souls and hearts mourning for the loss and its affront to human dignity. As I imagined the scene of blood and tears and confusion, I wept as I painted, the horror fresh in my mind...lest we forget. The largest painting I had done to date, it took all of me and I gave it all I had to give, at times kneeling on the floor over it, my tears mingling with the reds and whites of blanched figures.

My painting shows some 35 souls bent or frozen in place, the scene a kaleidoscope of flashes of red...life oozing between the cracks and a shroud over the world.

Peace is a dream I pray is in our reach...

60" x 48"

Acrylic, Plaster, Latex, Impasto/Paste, and Glazes on Canvas

$7200.00 (Plus Taxes, Shipping, and Handling)