EOI Carabanchel writing awards:"A Particular Paintbrush"

Dearest student Ana Stella Martínez Rodriguez, sharing 1st prize for NA, is the author of this very particular short story. Enjoy it!

“A particular paintbrush “

December 1500.
A wooden table, plenty of tools, was in the middle of the Piero’s workshop. It was there where I was born. I remember that cold and misty morning. After some days of work, my creator had finished his task: A delicate paintbrush whose thin bristles were splendid.
He put me in a little red can with the others members of my family: My grandparents (they were experts in colour mixtures), my parents (they were the best landscape drawers) and my sister (she was a portrait painter like me).
What was my name? It was Francesco and I was ready for anything. However, I had been waiting for a buyer three boring and long months. Finally I left the workshop in spring. This marvellous season gave me back all my dreams.
I heard Piero’s voice saying goodbye. A few minutes later I had crossed the Vecchio Bridge. For a short period of time I felt the humidity of the Arno River. Some children shouted on the street. Suddenly, I was placed on my owner’s table... A hand unwrapped the parcel carefully and I saw my new home.
It was a spacious workroom with two huge windows. On the left side there were dozen of canvases to put them in order. On the right side there was a cupboard. Inside it, an amount of oil paints, varnish and charcoals drawings were waiting patiently. I gazed an easel close to the windows. It held on an immaculate canvas. I thought it could be my first role as a paintbrush. Unfortunately, it wasn´t.
The beginning was extremely hard. Day after day there was nothing to do except to observe but the activity in the workroom was continuous. Aristocrats, clergymen and rich merchants arrived there to order or to buy paintings. I was learning step by step and one day I was face to face with my first challenge: The portrait of Ginevra Benci. The experience was fantastic. I was plunged into several different oil paints. Immediately I started to outline her eyes, her mouth, and her curly hair. What a pleasure! The result was surprising.
Sometimes I took a rest because my owner used to spend his time doing physical experiments and doing research. Actually, he was a genius. My next portraits were interesting, great and really well done but I can assure my favourite is a small woman portrait. It was painted from 1503 to 1506.
The painting shows two things: A landscape and a woman. The landscape represents the Earth before the human being presence. It is like a deserted nature, like a wild and harmful nature. The tiny bridge symbolizes the pas, the present and the future. The young woman is the most mysterious and suspicious woman in the world. His pale face without eyelashes, without eyebrows but with a strange smile produces lots of different feelings and interpretations. At this moment, all of you could guess the painter’s and the woman’s name.
Before the end, I am going to confess you my secret. Five centuries after my creation, I am still alive! When Leonardo da Vinci sold the Gioconda’s portrait to the king of France, he hid me between the canvas and the frame. What a brilliant idea! I am very proud of myself because I have had the honour to paint this masterpiece and we will stay together forever. Thank you Leonardo!.