The Bloody Countess

Illustrated Book : ''The Bloody Countess'' 2009

Written by Alejandra Pizarnik.

Illustrated by Santiago Caruso.

Client: Libros del Zorro Rojo (Spain) www.librosdelzorrorojo.com

Art Director: Sebastián García Schnetzer.

«Sitting on her throne, the countess watches people under torture, she listens to their screams. Her ancient, vile servant women are silent figures who bring fire, knives, needles, manacles; who torture young girls, then later bury them. Like the manacles or the knives, these old hags are instruments of possession. This dark ceremony has but a single, silent spectator.»

A. Pizarnik

Accused of murdering six hundred young girls, Erzsebet Bathory is one of the most sinister criminals in history. In her castle in the Carpathians, at the end of the 17th century, the countess crouches over her victims to bleed them to death and steal their youth. Her evil, fascinating legend has survived over the ages. The Bloody Countess is one of the key works by Alejandra Pizarnik. Its pages are a masterful portrait of sadism and madness, which the prints of the artist Santiago Caruso recreate to the point of perfection.

The aim of this book is to show the madness and the inner alchemy of Bathory, in about 26 images. These images explore the absolute power, the torture, the desire of eternity, the hungry soul of the Human. The Technique is ink over a stucated paper, later scratched. The color is acrylic in red.