[Parzival gazes at three drops of blood in the snow]

Proof taken from the original wood block at Gregynog in 1936. From a set of twelve illustrations for Wolfram von Eschenbach's (d. c.1230) narrative poem 'Parzival'. The blocks for the illustrations were engraved by Mrozewski between September 1933 and June 1934 whilst living in Amsterdam. They were never published in his lifetime. In 1990 Gwasg Gregynog published 'The Romance of Parzival and the Holy Grail', designed by David Esslemont and with an introduction by Carl Lofmark. This proof was reproduced - by offset lithography at Westerham Press, Kent - for one of the illustrations. The volume was published in an edition of 210 at £240. Ten of these had a special binding by James Brockman. Eschenbach's poem was the inspiration behind Richard Wagner's 'Parsival'. Seemingly frozen in a trance, Parzival remains motionless in the saddle and oblivious to his surroundings. The falcon can be seen attacking the goose, from which the blood has come. In this illustration there is a sense of stillness and quiet to reflect the love-trance that has captured Parzival and the muted sound that occurs as snow falls