Remarkable collection of three concept storyboard paintings for Walt Disney's 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty, all done by legendary Disney artist Eyvind Earle. Earle was Sleeping Beauty's production designer, and Disney gave him a significant amount of freedom in designing the settings and selecting colors for the film. Earle also painted the majority of the backgrounds himself, and his stylistic influence is readily apparent in the final product. In these concept paintings, Earle marvelously renders the Sleeping Beauty castle and its surrounding landscape, Prince Phillip on his trusty steed, and Princess Aurora in her cradle as a baby.
Eyvind Earle concept storyboard landscape painting with stylized Sleeping Beauty Castle:
(Walt Disney Studios, 1959) Original concept storyboard painting featuring the landscape from Sleeping Beauty, showing the green tree-lined grounds, including Earle's recognizably stylized square trees, with the castle with pointed towers looming in the distance. Signed in the lower right by Earle. Painting, measuring 11.5 x 6, is framed to an overall size of 20.75 x 15. In fine condition. An absolutely stunning piece of artwork with vivid colors that aptly capture the enchanting feel of the film. By this time Disney had already made two fairy-tale feature films, Snow White and Cinderella, so Walt Disney desired to make Sleeping Beauty stand out from its predecessors with a different visual aesthetic-eschewing the soft, rounded look of the earlier movies in favor of a more stylized one, as seen in this concept artwork. Sleeping Beauty was also made using Super Technirama 70, which allowed more detailed and complex backgrounds than ever before.
Eyvind Earle concept storyboard painting of Prince Phillip:
(Walt Disney Studios, 1959) Gorgeous original concept storyboard painting featuring a weary Prince Phillip on his horse, from Sleeping Beauty. This is from the dungeon scene where Maleficent shows Prince Phillip that he will be prisoner for nearly a lifetime, then released as an old man, missing his chance for a life of love with Sleeping Beauty. Signed in the lower right by Earle. Painting, measuring 11.75 x 5.75, is framed to an overall size of 23 x 17. In fine condition. This shows Phillip on the brink of a key moment in the story-at the castle gates Prince Phillip faces a fierce battle with Maleficent, who has assumed dragon form. A positively beautiful painting that served as inspiration for Disney's animators.
Eyvind Earle concept storyboard painting of Baby Aurora:
(Walt Disney Studios, 1959) Original concept storyboard painting featuring Aurora in her cradle as a baby from Sleeping Beauty, showing a ray of light hovering over the cradle. This blue ray of light is Merryweather the blue fairy coming to put her final spell on Aurora to protect her from Maleficent's evil spell. Signed in the lower right by Earle. Painting, measuring 11.25 x 5.5, is framed to an overall size of 20.5 x 15. In fine condition. Earle's work in this piece is magnificent in its rendering of a medieval room using modern artistic sensibilities, a distinct style that continues throughout his designs for Sleeping Beauty. An absolutely stunning piece of artwork with vivid colors that aptly capture the enchanting feel of the film.
