F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” Here are some shiny, crisp things that caught my eye recently:
♦ Irene Gallo curated an awesome autumnal gallery, Picturing Autumn, An Equinox Celebration, last week (sadly, the last of her “odes to the season” series), saying of the new season, “It’s a complicated and beautiful season—mixing a desperate need to soak in the last bits of sunlight, an ostentatious display of color, and the warmth of the coming holidays with a sense of loss and decay, foreboding…and magic. The spirits come out in fall and we transition from being outdoor people into an introspective, interior mindset.” So many wonderful pieces of art! I spent a long time trying to decide on a favorite or two, and even then I wanted to share all of them. Please go look at the gallery!
The first of my two favorites is Melisande (1895) by the Austrian painter Marianne Stokes (1855-1927). Gallo points out the detail in the arms, which is lovely, but I also love the expression and pose of the young woman, a kind of wistful resignation, and the way her gown has fallen into the water. I can tell myself a story about her.
The second is The Faun (1923) by Carlos Schwabe (1866-1926), a German Symbolist painter. This painting always grips me, something about the light and the faun’s contained energy, about the posture which is both sacred and profane, the irresistible curvature of the horns. I am tantalized and afraid at the same time.
