Marianne R. Petit

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2025 – The Wild Swans

black and whtie illustration. on the left a woman with a crown and robes whispers into the ear of a king. On the right, she is pointing to the sky and shouting. Two swans with crowns on their heads over above. The tex reads "The Queen lies about his children and turns his sons into swans."

2025: The Wild Swans (coming soon). Based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, the Wild Swans tells the story of Eliza who must silently and tirelessly labor to break the spell cast on her eleven brothers.

The book premiered as an artist proof at Tropic Bound (February 2025) and the Manhattan Rare Book and Fine Press Fair (February 2025). I am currently working on two different limited edition versions, a series of paper cuts with a light box and a moving panorama. They will be released Fall 2025 with live performances Spring 2026.

a black and white illustration of a forlorn woman sitting on the bank of a pond. three swans gather around her. one wears a crown. the tet reads "eliza runs away and meets her brothers, the swans."
a black and white illustration of a young woman on her knees gathering nettles in a cemetery. She is surrounded by tombstones and dancing skeletons. The text reads "running out of hte magi cnettles, Eliza creeps away at night to gather them from the haunted church cemetary."
a black and white illustration of a young woman kneeling in a cart looking to the side. swans are flying around her. the text reads "suddenly, eleven swans appear and land on the cart around her. the people wonder if it is a sign from heaven."