Wise van het Hol Battles the Fabled Pentapus Off Den Warden

Wise van het Hol Battles the Fabled Pentapus off Den Warden

seaweed pigments on vellum

c.1619

"The gaping maw of the beast leaked its slathering fangs into the hazy day," Fluvio wrote in his diary, "Brave men crumbled to their knees at the sight. But my imaginary friend, Wise van het Hol leaped into the roiling monstrosity with a feverish courage. Unarmed and alone, he jostled with the beast. So I drew furiously and with haste."

The pentapus, the legendary five-armed octopus off Den Warden, killer of men, sinker of ships, with a predilection for the taste of babies, was the most fearsome beast on the north coast. It was Wise van het Hol who, on a morning like molasses, suggested a plot for conjuring the beast forth. Baiting the creature with his own form, Wise beautifully illustrated the conundrum of life, the contradiction of human terms. Courageous, valiant, and something far greater than daft, Wise fought for his life while Fluvio quickly, with maddening strokes that threatened to upend him painted until at last they both fell exhausted onto the beach, Fluvio with his masterpiece, Wise with his life and what would turn out to be a nice supper.