Splice: Early mutant concept drawing (2000) by Vincenzo Natali

leading from

Vincenzo Natali
and
The Pink Panther comic book trail

source https://www.vincenzo-natali.com/splice-2010

a) Early mutant concept for Splice by Vincenzo Natali drawn around 2000

In this concept drawing for Splice that was released in 2009, it's not for me to claim that Vincenzo definitely referenced any of the images explored below, consciously or unconsciously, but his creative flow has somehow found a way to create an image that resembles a combination of these things.

I have not read about it anywhere, and might as well just accept the unlikelihood whatever might seem obvious.

At least I can see the similarities and am happy to point them out.

b) References Salvador Dali's "Woman with the head of roses" (1935)?

c) Human in the distance on the left becomes the centre of the wing of the mutant?  

It's as if it becomes the centre of the wing where the feathers change direction

d)  Head of lion becomes the head of the mutant?

d.i) The head of the lion in Dali's painting becomes the mutant's head in Natali's drawing but facing the other way

d.ii) The back of the lion's head becomes the mutant's face

The end of the mane becomes the mutant's tongue

The egg or pebble like form on the table become the chin of the mutant

d.iii) Lion's face becomes the back of the mutant's head

The open jaws of the lion would become the back of the mutants neck

With that the lion's cheekbone would generally become the mutant's cheekbone on the left

e) References "Quand Même" drawing by Sergei Eisenstein (1942) which appears to reference Salvador Dali's "Woman with the head of roses"?

As far as I can see, the drawing "Quand Même"  by Sergei Eisenstein featuring a woman partying appears to reinterpret shapes and forms from  Salvador Dali's "Woman with the head of roses" (1935).  

Eisenstein would often do this with other artist's work and other artist's would look at his drawings and reinterpret them in other ways


The way that I think Vincenzo reinterpreted aspects of Dali painting is reminiscent of what Sergei Eisenstein did, which is something that I noticed was happening the early Dren concept drawing but here in a larger way, and so I might wonder if he indeed found out about the connection that seemed to be going on between Eisenstein and Dali's work. 

f.i) The head of the woman becomes the head of the mutant?

f.ii) The woman's upper eye becomes the mutant's eye on the left while?

An oval shape in the curling hair in Eisenstein's drawing appears to become the mutant's eye on the right side of the head in Natali's mutant

f.iii) Woman's jaw becomes the back of the mutant's skull ?


The woman's mouth in Eisenstein's drawing become wrinkles behind the mutant's eyebrow on the left of Natali's mutant

g) The long nosed mask from on the ground becomes the clawed hand of the mutant?

The long nosed mask from on the ground in Eisenstein's drawing becomes a hand of the mutant which would be the hand on the left of the two, which would for the creature be its right. 

The eye of the mask in Eisenstein's drawing becomes the space between the fingers and palm of the mutant's hand

h) Comparing areas between all three

h.i) Upper part of woman reading a letter with a human standing in the distance becomes a woman's arm holding a bowl of grapes becomes a mutant's wing?

The head of the woman on the left in the Dali becomes the glass with perhaps a bunch of grapes in the Eisenstein drawing

The slanting line of the side of the dress in Dali's painting becomes the raised lower arm in Eisenstein's drawing which in Natali's drawing becomes the left upward slanting side of the wing.

Meanwhile the shadow of the human in the background becomes the raised upper arm, while the person standing in the background becomes the shoulder and the point where the feathers change direction along the bottom of the wing

h.ii) A chair with human limbs becomes a woman's leg becomes a mutant's back leg

In Dali's drawing there is a chair with an arm and legs inspired by the human body

The slanting line at the front of the seat becomes the lower leg of the woman in Eisenstein's drawing

The curve beneath the humanoid arm of the chair in Dali's painting becomes the tail of the mutant in Natali's drawing

In Eisenstein's drawing, it looks as if foot is half out of the shoe because of the  bend at the lower part of the lower leg resembles the point where the heel ought to be, but this would become the heel part of the mutant's animal like foot in Natali's drawing

h.iii) A lion's head and egg on the table becomes a woman's head on its side becomes a mutant's head with tongue sticking out of a wide open mouth

The lion head in the distance of the Dali painting becomes the woman's head on its side in the Eisenstein drawing which becomes the mutant's facing towards the right in Natali's drawing

h.iv) Woman's leg draped in fabric becomes a long nosed mask on the ground which becomes a claw like hand of a mutant

The central woman's left leg draped in fabric in Dali's painting becomes the long nosed mask on the ground in Eisenstein's drawing, which becomes the claw like hand of the mutant that is on the ground in Natali's drawing

i.) References  the cover of Pink Panther #19 (which I believe references Salvador Dali's "Woman with the head of roses" (1935)?


i.i) Pushed to explore a Pink Panther connection?
Because the previous drawing by Vincenzo Natali that I explored in my opinion referenced a couple of Pink Panther comic book covers as well, I find myself pushed to look for a connection with a Pink Panther comic book cover here. The cover of #19 from 1974  appears to me to be one based on Dali's "Woman with the head of roses", where the Pink Panther is watering a pot of flowers and one of the flowers squirts water at the Inspector.

One might wonder if this thin winged mutant is somehow dimly related to the long thin figure of the Pink Panther

ii) Colours of the Inspector used in the mutant's face?
However the pink of the coat becomes the mutants nose, the red of the hat becomes the eyes and the purple of the belt becomes the tongue

 

iii) Watering can and flowers integrated into the wing, etc ?

With that, the yellow of the watering can becomes the feathers at the end of the wing. There are other colours in the wings such as blue and feint pink but no red. However, perhaps the green background becomes the green glow on parts of the mutant.