Enchanted Garden

A favourite painting was the artwork for this commission (by Jackie A), cut in a stack of two jigsaws in early 2021. Both jigsaws belong to BCD members. The decorative edge was straightforward - it consisted of plants linked together, like in the vintage Lucilla brand. The interior has difficult extreme line-cutting.

The frieze of figures imposes a break when building in from any edge and the blossom was as effective as the briars around Sleeping Beauty’s castle (so was done last). Progress was mainly from right-to-left. The central group of three figures and matching heads/hair to bodies was the most difficult part of the foreground.

The complete jigsaw shows a walled garden bursting with spring and summer produce, but through the arches you can see a snowy winter landscape. Both Waterhouse and Stillman have painted the story of the Enchanted Garden of Messr Ansaldo, which comes from the Italian Renaissance text The Decameron by Boccaccio.

Artist: Marie Spartali Stillman
Date: 2021
Brand: Le Colimacon
Material: plywood
Nationality: French
Pieces: 766
Size: c17x12.5 in
Theme: Pre-Raphaelite, Italy, Renaissance
Title: The Enchanted Garden of M Ansaldo