I love dogs, and there was something about the expression in this dog’s face in Woman and Dog at Table that I recognised well. As for the painting, it, too, appears to be a real scene from artist Pierre Bonnard’s…
art
Woman Walking in an Exotic Forest – A Poem
In Woman Walking in an Exotic Forest, Henri Rousseau takes a woman, better suited for promenading in Parisian parks, and places her tropically, and absurdly, out of her element. “Gazing at the viewer with a look of vague surprise, the…
Bowl of Fruit c.1830 – A Poem
There is a performative aspect to this painting. The curtains remind me of theatre curtains, the fruit is oversized, and the dual plates and knives are carefully positioned downstage. But the kitchens of the 19th century were not performative. Tucked…
Orange – A Poem
Granddaughter of Isaac Newton, Amanda Almira Newton contributed nearly one-sixth of all the 7,600 archived botanical illustrations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her watercolour work for the Department from 1896-1928 documented an expanding industry at a time when photography…
Two Pears on a Tabletop – A Poem
Known for his “radiant sunlight” and “filmy atmosphere”, Sanford Robinson Gifford’s style as a master landscaper was well established by the 1860s. Around the time he was painting Two Pears, he was chosen as one of two artists (the other…
Green Plums – A Poem
Such is the photo-like quality of Green Plums, I didn’t realise until reading the National Gallery of Art’s discussion of Joseph Decker’s paintings in American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I (pages 123-125) that not all the plums are as…
Pub Bench – A Poem
The inspiration for this simple poem came not just from this John Frederick Peto painting, but from a photo I took a while ago (see below). It’s a warm night. I’m on holiday. I’m inside a city pub having a…
The Master Herbalist – A Poem
Well, this one was a wild ride, much like the famous Banquet for Rousseau itself. More of Rousseau’s works here. More on the outrageous party can be found here. Apollinaire’s full poetic tribute to Rousseau can be found here. A…
Plough Horse – A Poem
I deliberately chose to use the British/Australian “plough”, instead of the Americanised “plow” here. There is a weightiness to the visual of the word “plough”, I just don’t see in “plow”. I also see “dough”, “rough”, “tough”, even “ought” –…
Boy with a Basket of Fruit – A Poem
One of the joys of this food/art/poem project of mine is imagining life outside the painting, which leads me to research. Information on child labour in the US here. A little look at historic tin toys here. And it’s not…
Oysters – A Poem
Human consumption of oysters dates back to prehistoric times. The oyster then moves through a period of delicacy in Ancient Rome, back to being poor people’s food in Medieval Europe, a boom period during the 19th century, and back to…
Two Bunches of Grapes for Wine Lovers – A Poem
For those who like a glass of wine, becoming a vigneron is a rose-tinted-glasses dream. I don’t know if that’s what Andrew John Henry Way was thinking when he painted Two Bunches of Grapes. But it’s certainly what I thought…
