Too many people forget that Sleeping Beauty is an “ogre tale”. Well... The French version of the story, as told by Charles Perrault, is an ogre tale, with the second antagonist being the evil, wicked, old queen/mother-queen of the prince, an ogress with a particular fondness for the Robert sauce. Here is a series of various illustrations putting forward this too-often neglected character.

Illustration of the queen giving the order to her (technically butler but he is dressed as a cook here) to kill little Dawn and cook her at the Robert sauce. Created by Jacques Godefroi-Jean Midderich and Bertall for the 1893 “Contes de fées tirés de Perrault, Mme d’Aulnoy et Mme Leprince de Beaumont”, part of “La bibliothèque rose illustrée”. 

Illustration of the ogress-queen throwing herself into the vat of snakes and toads, taken from Garnier frère’s “Contes des fées par Perrault, Mme d’Aulnoy, Hamilton et Mme Leprince de Beaumont” (date unclear, between 1850 and 1880). Illustrator unknown.

The queen-ogress killing herself upon the arrival of her son the king, 1865. Unknown artist: part of the famous “images d’Epinal”, more precisely the “Scottish series” of the imagerie d’Epinal. 

Character design and costume concept for the role of the ogress, as played by the famous comic actor Tiercelin, in the “folie-comi-parade” play known as “L’ogresse ou La belle au bois dormant” (1811). Costumes by Fortuné Potier, drawing by Joly. 

The mother-queen suspecting her son of hiding a secret. Illustration by Olivier Desvaux for his “La Belle au bois dormant” (2011)

Malcolm Ashman’s illustration of the old queen preparing the vat of snakes and toads, for Kara May’s “French Fairy Tales”, 1992

Harry Clarke’s illustration of the wicked queen asking for her grand-children to be cooked a la “sauce piquante”. From the 1922′s “Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault”, London.

Today's landscape painter is Malcolm Ashman who was born in Bath, Somerset, UK in 1957, he still lives there. He is a member of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) and Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), and has exhibited widely in London and the South of England, His fascination with landscape has a root in this story:

“When I was 7 my parents bought a painting from an artist who was selling door to door. It was the first painting I’d ever seen, real paint on canvas. It was a landscape, Lake Como, and the most exotic thing I’d ever seen.Before that my experience of painting had been from books, my main source, bought with pocket money aged 4 years, were the Ladybird books ‘What to Look for in Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter.' These early influencers are still some of my most treasured possessions.

Growing up in a small village the landscape dominated my life, a place of safety to play in. Spurred on Tunnicliffe and my daily surroundings I decided I would be an artist.The landscape has remained that place of play and experimentation, an escape route, somewhere to reflect and follow that 4 year old’s impulse.Alongside this runs a desire to engage with others, something I avoided for a long time.

Recent drawings and paintings of the male figure began as a personal exploration of where I fitted in. Growing up, keeping a low profile, I’d never really known. The only requirement to ‘be a man’ it seemed was to be angry. My early experiences had been of the pack where individuality was rejected often violently. Removed from that group dynamic most people behave differently and reveal something of their true selves.

Malcolm Ashman, Azhi Dahaka

Malcolm Ashman（British, b.1957）

Today's landscape painter is Malcolm Ashman who was born in Bath, Somerset, UK in 1957, he still lives there. He is a member of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) and Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), and has exhibited widely in London and the South of England, His fascination with landscape has a root in this story:

“When I was 7 my parents bought a painting from an artist who was selling door to door. It was the first painting I’d ever seen, real paint on canvas. It was a landscape, Lake Como, and the most exotic thing I’d ever seen.Before that my experience of painting had been from books, my main source, bought with pocket money aged 4 years, were the Ladybird books ‘What to Look for in Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter.' These early influencers are still some of my most treasured possessions.

Growing up in a small village the landscape dominated my life, a place of safety to play in. Spurred on Tunnicliffe and my daily surroundings I decided I would be an artist.The landscape has remained that place of play and experimentation, an escape route, somewhere to reflect and follow that 4 year old’s impulse.Alongside this runs a desire to engage with others, something I avoided for a long time.

Recent drawings and paintings of the male figure began as a personal exploration of where I fitted in. Growing up, keeping a low profile, I’d never really known. The only requirement to ‘be a man’ it seemed was to be angry. My early experiences had been of the pack where individuality was rejected often violently. Removed from that group dynamic most people behave differently and reveal something of their true selves.