Monday, April 20, 2009

The painter's eye

Women were adored by the painter's brush in 19th century Europe. I just finished looking through some of my books on 19th century painting. Wouldn't it have been nice to sit in a warm studio, bathed in natural light, as a painter worked to bring out a woman's beauty through his art? Here's a poem about how a modern day woman's soul may blossom if she could be transported back to an inviting, 19th century studio.

Portrait

Sighs fill my air
Mirror self looks worn
Smile breaks off
fresh girl no more.

Divide time's curtain
Portrait still I sit
Painter's eye extracts
Beauty blooms through.

Grace raises posture
Female form revered
Eyes brighten for notice
Hands framing face.

The painter knew how to unearth the beauty within all of his female subjects. Sitting for the portrait must have also been liberating for a woman during those restrictive times.

Smile when you see beautiful you in the mirror this morning :) See what the painter would see.

You should see how crazy my hair looks today! Where is my portrait painter anyway?

17 comments:

Penny said...

Haha! What a great, uplifting post! Really brightened my morning. =)

Marty said...

In the artist eye;

Your hair would be a butterfly..,

And your face the flower on which it alights.

shabby girl said...

Loved your poem. It speaks so well to the difference between what I see in the mirror, and what I hope for when noticed.
Marty, your wife must be very happy!

Beth Kephart said...

Oh, this is nice. And there's a book you must read, a novel about Mary Cassatt painting her sister, Lydia Cassatt reads the morning paper.

As for husbands and books — I just smiled at your comment. Here I am, writing my twelfth book, and I have yet to persuade my husband of any book's beauty.

T Rex Mom said...

Thanks for sharing. I, too, like looking at 19th century portraits.

And we all have bad hair days. Thankfully for me, I get to have my hair done this week - the first time in nearly 8 months! You should see what mine looks like!

Sneaky Momma said...

Beautiful poem. Thank you for you inspirational words this morning. :)

Mervat said...

What a wonderful, heartening post. Thank you for sharing!

Joanne said...

What a very thoughtful sentiment - look in the mirror and "see what the painter would see." It speaks deeply to who we are.

Kim said...

Love the new layout! You're right it would be so nice to have someone assess our faces and find the beautiful parts. Your poems are so beautiful and airy. They really do belong in an anthology!

Dani said...

Lovely post! I just love your poetry! Beautiful and heartening. I'll have to see myself...t-shirt and boy shorts and all...in this light. :)

Kari said...

That was really beautiful. Thinking about that makes me want to be transported back for that experience.

Lucia said...

That was sweet! Did you take poetry classes? Just got back from the gym...trying to see past the sweat, hehe. Enjoy your day today!

The Fat Chick said...

I love this! I used to write poetry. I have binders and binders of it. You've encouraged me to look through it & possibly write some new pieces. Thanks also for taking interest in my blog. I have read comments are like virtual hugs and your definitely are. :D

PersicaPit said...

This is really lovely - I wish I could go back in time to have my portrait painted back then, too. :)

Michelle said...

I don't know where your painter is, but I think he ran off with my stylist! Love the poem... and you're right. I really love (I know I just used the word but I couldn't come up with a better one right now) thinking about things I wouldn't ordinarily come up with on my own. This is a good one!

LuAnn said...

Love this - THANKS !!!!!
Love the tulips too

The Write Girl said...

This is such a wonderful poem. I really enjoyed it : )