Blood Bathory

This piece was originally a concept I had for IF (Illustration Friday 4/25/14 Vanity), but I was having severe difficulty with the layout, and ultimately, scrapped it several times before finally finding something that worked for me.  I wanted to depict the legendary 'Blood' Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (or ecsedi Báthory Erzsébet in her native tongue).  Báthory was a Hungarian Countess who was married away at young age to Ferenc Nádasdy the son of a Hungarian Baron.  Ferenc spent most of his time away, while Báthory toiled away in their homes in Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia.  During this time period it is alleged that Báthory tortured as many as 650 victims, and buried their remains around her homes.  It is said that Báthory would use the blood of young virgin maidens and 'bath' in it in order to maintain her youthful appearance.  Báthory was eventually put on trial and imprisoned in her home in Slovakia (Čachtice Castle), where she remained until her death.  I used some photo reference for the figure, and have been working on it in between other projects.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.