“You smell of linseed oil.”
My father spoke in a baffled tone. He did not believe that simply cleaning a painter’s studio would make the smell linger on my clothes, my skin, my hair. He was right. It was as if he guessed that I now slept with the oil in my room, that I sat for hours being painted and absorbing the scent. He guessed and yet he could not say. His blindness took away his confidence so he did not trust the thoughts in his mind.
A year before I might have tried to help him, suggest what he was thinking, humor him into speaking his mind. Now, however, I simply watched him struggle silently, like a beetle that has fallen on its back and cannot turn itself over. Sometimes it is best not to tell my family, sometimes, it is best to leave them in the dark, searching for something they believe is there, sometimes, it is simply easier.
My mother had also guessed, though she did not know what she had guessed. Sometimes I could not even meet her eye. When I did her look was a puzzle of anger held back, of curiosity, of hurt. She was trying to understand what had happened to her daughter. She was second-guessing her decision to allow me to work as a maid in the Vermeer household.
I had grown used to the smell of linseed oil. I even kept a small bottle of it by my bed. In the mornings when I was getting dressed I held it up to the window to admire the color, which was like lemon juice with a drop of lead-tin yellow in it. I wear that color now, I wanted to say. He is painting me that color.
Instead, to take my father’s mind off the smell, I described the other painting my master was working on. “A young woman sits at a harpsichord, playing. She is wearing a yellow and black bodice—the same the baker’s daughter wore for her pa...
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... the present, watching my father again, if he knew, if any of them knew, what would they think?
Works Cited
“Artist’s Paints.” Earth Pigments.com. Earth’s Pigments Supplies, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. http://www.earthpigments.com/artists-oil-paints/ “How to Make Oil Paint.” Printmaking.com. Johansen, Tony, n.d. Web. 13 Jul. 2006. http://www.paintmaking.com/grinding_oils.htm "Johannes Vermeer.” rijksmuseum. National Gallery, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/overview/johannes-vermeer "Johannes Vermeer (Dutch Painter)." Encyclopedia Britannica. Demand Media, Wheelock,
Arthur K. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/626156/Johannes-Vermeer “The Concert: 1665-1666.” Vermeer Foundation.com. Vermeer Foundation Gallery, n.d. Web.
03 Aug. 2002. http://www.vermeer-foundation.org/The-Concert-1665-66.html
When that room is entered all voices are hushed, and all merriment silenced. The place is as holy as a church. In the centre of the canvas is the Virgin Mother with a young, almost girlish face or surpassing loveliness. In her eyes affection and wonder are blended, and the features and the figure are the most spiritual and beautiful in the world's art.
The view of the painting brings to mind the all the senses. Smell is the first to come to mind as the smoke from the candle billows up, the burning smell reaches the noise as well as the burning cigar. The fruity smell overshadows that of the smell of chicken and peas. The noise of a dropped tray and the breaking of glass as it hits the floor makes everyone turn to the right. People talking over each other to be heard. All of the senses are realized as the painting is viewed.
...hat she does not obliges to what she said to her daughter on about staring to other people. She stared and looked at the teacher twice, which would demonstration that the mother does not like something about her. “Her lips are quivering,” said the daughter showing that her mother had tremble when she was talking to her. They touch and press the lips as an old game but instead the mother put her hand down on her side that indicated it was not part of the old game it was different. The mother shoes as she walked down the hallway from her daughter and the teacher made a very loud sound. Singing and talking in the classroom as they walked towards the room was still not loud enough to take away her mother shoes walking down the hallway. Here the mother is showing emotions that she does not approve of the teacher as in her actions and having loud steps down the hallway.
Van Gogh’s works have been deeply considered and examined to unfold the mysteries of his mental illness. It was in Arles, southern France of 1888 where Van Gogh was an accomplished artist on his own, but still not having had much notice, when his me...
...cts of the mother and the descriptions, which are presented to us from her, are very conclusive and need to be further examined to draw out any further conclusions on how she ?really? felt. The mother-daughter relationship between the narrator and her daughter bring up many questions as to their exact connection. At times it seems strong, as when the narrator is relating her childhood and recounting the good times. Other times it is very strained. All in all the connection between the two seems to be a very real and lifelike account of an actual mother-daughter relationship.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is the main character who commits the sin of adultery and bears a child. Most readers pay attention to Hester because of her sinful act and the hardships she endures. Her hardships are very important, but the fact about how her daughter, Pearl, has to go through them with her is also crucial to the story’s plot. Pearl is a very complex and important aspect to the story. Even though her mother committed a sinful act of adultery, Pearl still looks up to her mother with love and grace. Pearl recognizes characters and their significance in her and her mother’s life. There are some points in the story where Pearl is considered a child of the Devil simply because she is the result of a sin. Pearl continuously finds ways to defy the image of being an evil child. Throughout the story, Pearl illustrates an “elf-like” intelligence and a maturity that children do not normally have. Pearl gives her mother the hope she needs to carry on in her life with her head held high and the ability to wear the scarlet letter, “A”, with confidence.
To begin, In the text on paragraph 10 page 326 the author states”Mother regarded me warmly. She gave me to understand that she was glad I had found what I have been looking for, that she and father were happy to sit with their coffee and would not be coming down.”This is important because she realizes they
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
Surrounded by paintings. Surrounded by color. My eyes traveled from painting to painting, taking me to new places. Finally, I landed at home. Titanium white spread on with a palette knife, with burst of colors painted with a dry brush. I was drawn to Autumn Lilies like a magnet to metal. I saw myself taking the brush from Mary G. L. Hood. I saw myself painting this painting.
Theo and the young Narrator similarly discover the revelatory capacity of art through a single pivotal painting and author respectively, both which become significant motifs in either text. Tartt utilizes an existent painting ‘The Goldfinch’ as a fixed point of reference, which, for both Theo and the reader provides a sense of reality and constancy ‘rais[ing him] above the surface’ of an otherwise tumultuous childhood. Whereas Proust uses a fictional author, ‘Bergotte’, to communicate the universality of art, and invite the reader, through the vivid immediacy with which the Narrator’s early reading experiences are described, to participate in his epiphanic discovery that art can translate ‘imperceptible truths which would never have [otherwise] been revealed to us’ (97). Artistic imagery becomes a motif in Proust’s descriptions of scenes of domesticity and nature. In a scene recounting Francoise ‘masterful’ preparation of a family meal the Narrator describes asparagus in the technical language of painting as ‘finely stippled’ provoking an association between his observations of asparagus and the creation of a painting. By forming this improbable link he elevates unremarkable asparagus to the ‘precious’ status of art in the eyes of the reader. Proust’s presentation of his Narrator’s ‘fascination’ and pleasure at their ‘rainbow-loveliness’, forces the reader to consider asparagus with unfamiliar and attentive appreciation, conveying the idea that art can uncover the overlooked beauty of the mundane. Though Theo reveals a far more cynical view of ordinary life as a ‘sinkhole of hospital beds, coffins and broken hearts’ Tartt conveys the similar belief in art’s capacity to create a ‘rainbow-edge’ of beauty between our perceptions and the harshness of reality. In the most
Louise found that Baptiste’s skin “tasted sour with old body salts.” The use of the word “salt” evokes the association of minerals pertaining to the earth. I immediately begin to think about elements and in turn affiliate Baptiste’s character with natural substances. After Louise got close to Baptiste, she noticed that he smelt like the “sweet, warm earth and the faint, odd smell of lime that covered anything unclean.” Baptiste has a paradoxical scent because he smells both like the “warm earth” and “anything unclean” at the same time. The description of “warm earth” makes me think of the nature and all things fresh. However, fresh and “unclean” are words that fail to coincide with one another. This presents Baptiste’s character as a mystery because it’s difficult to explain the inner working of a
What is the smell that permeates the office building? This essay will argue that the smell in the office is a physical manifestation of the attitudes and emotions of its inhabitants. The reactions of different characters to the smell in the office building will be examined from cognitive and anthropological viewpoints. For the purpose of this essay “cognitive” will refer to the emotional associations that the characters make with the physical smell and the function of memory in its relation to smell. From the “anthropological” aspect, this essay will focus on the cultural representations of scent appraisal within the narrative. The reader learns about many of the static characters by their reported reactions to the smell: their persistent complaints are contrasted by Singlebury and his alleged understanding of its origin. In this way, the smell in the office building acts as a foil for the Manager, Singlebury and their colleagues. The smell lurks antagonistically throughout the story, growing stronger, highlighting crucial ...
In spite of religion being the ruling subject matter of art for many centuries, magic and mysticism have long been interwoven in a dark curtain that hangs over a large segment of the art world. The whole world is alive and filled with soul, whether light or dark. “Each material form may be thought of as attracting an appropriate soul, as firewood treated with sulphur draws flame.” While there is no historical or scientific evidence for the legitimacy of séances, magic or communication with the deceased, in D.H. Rawcliffe’s book Occult and Supernatural Phenomena, he reminds us of the importance of hallucinations and other fantastical experiences of the subconscious. These often provide strange and impressive experiences, interpreted as supernatural in origin. As we study art, we can only begin to wonder what spirits might have visited the great masters, any hallucinations they might have experienced, and how their paintings were influenced by the dark corridors of their subconscious.
Being a maid is hard, but being a maid and having a relationship with the wealthy boss is even worse. Griet is a beautiful young maid with an eye for art and natural beauty. Her looks cause complications between her and other characters, especially the wife of her boss, Catharina. Tracy Chevalier brings fear to scenes with clever word play and realistic possibilities. She did very well making you see punishments from Griet’s point of view. Griet worries that Catharina might catch Vermeer and she working together. Tracy Chevalier also used the beauty of the girl in the original painting to add to the story. For example, there are many occasions in the book when Griet is faced by men that are overly attracted to her. This makes Catharina worried from the beginning about Vermeer and Griet. The appliance of Griets beauty makes The Girl With The Pearl Earring a much more interesting novel.
The women which Stephen comes across in his journey in becoming an artist define him and change him by nurturing him, fascinating him, and inspiring him. Stephen was forever changed by his mother, the Virgin Mary, Eileen, the prostitute, and the seaside woman. The object of the artist is to create the object of the beautiful, I argue that it was the beauty in the women of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which created the artist in the end.