"Juno & The Peacock" Framed Painting

Original painting by Carolin Leary Prinn
A painted based on Aesop's Fable, Juno & The Peacock. Shown at Curio Art Gallery in Portugal for the exhibition "Enchanted Fables"
 
Medium: Watercolour on cotton rag paper
Image Size: 10.25 x 19.5 inches
Framed Size: 15.75 x 25 inches
Custom matted in ornate black wood frame
Year: 2025
Painting is signed
 
STORY: 
The peacock, who normally relished admiration for his beauty, was at last put off by the humble nightingale. For the nightingale’s song, clear, light and heavenly as the music of Apollo, was as beautiful sounding as the peacock was dazzling in appearance. And all the birds admired it. And the other birds took the moment to mock the peacock, who upon opening his own mouth, let out only harsh caws. 
 
At last, the discontented peacock went to Juno to complain of his poor lot in life. He landed there upon the highest pedestal next to her, placing himself neatly at its centre.
 
“Oh Juno, why have you given me such a poor voice and not a beautiful one, song-like, as that simple Nightingale?”
 
At that, Juno glared at the covetous Peacock whose tail, even as he complained, swept like a waterfall behind him,  glittering in the sun and sinuously curling in the cool waters of her garden.
 
“All creatures have been bestowed a gift: To the eagle the gift of strength, to the raven the gift of prophecy, to the nightingale the gift of song, and so on. I have gifted you the greatest beauty of all creatures - tail green as leaves after rain, radiance multifaceted as the glittering rainbow, colour borrowed from the palettes of the Garden of Paradise. And yet all you can do is complain that I have not given you a voice of gold. 
 
Go off with thee now!
For even if I were to give you your songbird voice, 
you would sooner come again to me to complain of something new.”
 
Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.