An adventurous cognoscente brings her suitcase along while parasailing over an urban, yet mountainous, region. Tall buildings in the foreground appear to be apartments with protruding balconies. Atop several buildings are shapes resembling Christmas trees, but also, on one rooftop, a figure apparently pointing a rifle at the flying object above. The rifle and the cautionary caption add an ominous note to what seems, at first glance, a serene scene.
Floyd always has a way of expanding our (okay, my) vocabulary. His love of words applies especially to obscure and bizarre words with intriguing sounds. In this colorful image, a Sumo-styled myrmidon follows a cognoscente as she careens down a ski slope, carelessly dispatching with a sword those who get too near his charge.
In Greek mythology, the Myrmidons were a race of people created by Zeus from a nest of ants. They settled in Thessaly and were led by Achilles in the Trojan War. In a broader sense, the term refers to a follower or henchman. It can also describe someone who blindly obeys a powerful person or authority, even when doing bad things. In general, a myrmidon is a loyal follower who executes orders without protest or pity. (Apparently I failed to record the source of this paragraph. Sorry!)
In modern times (as recently as 2011), according to World Wide Words, it has been applied to “holders of public office who are carrying out unpopular policies,” however:
“It is less effective than it might be as a term of abuse because it requires the addressee to have at least a smattering of classical knowledge.”
Looks like great fun! This is a particularly creative example of sports engaged in by Floyd’s elaborately clothed Asian ladies. Although only one participant and one tiger are shown, a second pair is evident, judging from the tow ropes.
This drawing is unlabeled (unless someone can interpret the title‐‐ FOXES maybe?), but a very similar drawing is labeled The Cognoscente’s Pets. It may have been a study for this drawing, but it suffered some water damage. This version has added elements: the child(?) next to one woman’s skirts and the Japanese lettering.
These elegant Asian-styled characters, the cognoscenti, are featured in about two dozen of Floyd’s drawings. More cognoscenti can be found in this post.
Floyd’s works reflect his admiration for the styles of artists from Japan and China, and he used similar styles in several of his drawings.
Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725 – 8 July 1770) was a Japanese designer of woodblock print art in the ukiyo-e style, an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints. From Wikipedia.
Katsushika Hokusai (c. 31 October 1760 – 10 May 1849), known as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. From Wikipedia.
Floyd R. Peterson 
