Back for the encore, I want some more!
But in reality, there was so much artwork I came across in the game that I just couldn’t cover it all. So here are the rest of the pieces I managed to snag, and I want to hear what you guys think about these!
When I went to do a reverse Google Image search, I could find no source, which leads me to believe these were some of the original paintings that Bloober Team did up for the game. They’re both eerie and beautiful, as is most of the artwork featured in Layers of Fear in general!
During my playthrough wandering through a circular corridor, I encountered this painting. It features two women and four men in a boat fishing. One of the men is bent over, attempting to help one of the men pull a fish out of the water that was caught. The setting is very warm and sunny.
Interestingly enough, when I looked into the artist of this painting — George Morland — there were many intriguing connections between him and many of the other artworks and artists featured in Layers of Fear.
As a child, Morland’s artistic talents were arguably cultivated and exploited by his father, who sent him to create and copy pictures of various kinds for his own profit, particularly from Dutch and Flemish artists. Included in this list were Henry Fuseli and Joshua Reynolds, the latter of whom he met and was granted permission to copy his pictures. Eventually, he soon found a way to earn money on his own and broke the connection with his father, producing works of his own.
As well, there is a second part to this painting, called ” The Anglers’ Repast” — repast means meal. I guess we know the fate of that fish they caught.
I’ve saved the best for last, and I probably should have included this one in the Undercoat part of the series buuuuuuuuut — I wanna hear what you guys think!
As usual, while wandering down one of many haunting hallways, I came across this strange painting. A shadowy figure with a sword grabs a tormented soul from behind, as though to behead or stab or perhaps something else altogether, with a hangman’s post behind them. In the background slithers a serpent-like demon in the shadows. The scenery looked oddly cut off but piqued enough of my curiosity to spending as much time as I did finding the source.
I wasn’t disappointed when I found it.
You can see part of the painting taken in Layers of Fear in the bottom right corner. But this painting depicts exactly what you see: hell. Various nightmarish creatures include an owl with a human face reading a book, a half-submerged structure with a gaping human mouth, and the tormented souls who are inflicted with the hard labour and pain involved when being sent to hell.
But there is an interesting silver lining to this painting that was included: the welcoming, peaceful pale horizon off the left-side of the painting, that contrasts against hell’s dark and fiery landscape. Was this maybe a quiet commentary on the duality of human nature? What do you think?
On this note, my Layers of Fear series is officially concluded! I truly hope you enjoyed reading these and learned some new things, and maybe have a deeper appreciation for art. Ciao~!
Read the rest of my Layers of Fear series: Prologue (Part 1); Canvas (Part 2); Paint (Part 3); Undercoat (Part 4); Brush (Part 5); and Touch (Part 6).
Kate Rhiannon is a Contributing Editor-at-Large and Graphics Artist for AYBOnline.com. Her opinions are her own. Feel free to follow her on Twitter and Facebook, where she posts updates about her creative projects!
