tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post1171417030487278617..comments2023-11-22T09:11:01.567+00:00Comments on George Szirtes: Jan van Hogspeuw finds BeautyGeorge Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08889600788146987089noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post-82645462841389923762009-12-20T13:06:40.583+00:002009-12-20T13:06:40.583+00:00Thank you, Mark.
I think beauty may be the right ...Thank you, Mark.<br /><br />I think beauty may be the right word here, not because Brueghel isnt beautiful, but he is many other things too. Brouwer is of course far more limited, but the beauty has, I think, a greater poignancy precisely because of that.<br /><br />Have a very good Christmas and New Year yourself!George Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08889600788146987089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post-29871866279818583552009-12-18T21:27:05.068+00:002009-12-18T21:27:05.068+00:00Thanks for this George. I don't know Brouwer&#...Thanks for this George. I don't know Brouwer's work. Beauty isn't an odd word at all, though I'd probably need to visit one of his actual paintings before I could fully appreciate the tenderness. I'd be very surprised if I came to consider Brouwer's works more beautiful than Bruegel's, but I am open to being surprised, or I like to believe I am. <br /><br />Interesting what you say about the violet hat, the colour echoed in the background to the right of his shoulder. Interesting also how the two faces differ, not only in age and expression, but also, seemingly, in treatment, the old woman in the background more softened (as you say); in a narrowed depth of field. <br /><br />The man's accurately rendered expression (I can almost smell the shit) seems quite modern to me, even contemporary. But the woman's open-mouthed, soft-skulled face reminds me a little of Bruegel's peasants, and far more so of Goya's (the shadow of Old Prijck). <br /><br />Anyway, wishing you and yours a bestially peaceful Christmas.Mark Granierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09899629187771913398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post-71930476895185370392009-12-18T13:21:25.063+00:002009-12-18T13:21:25.063+00:00Interesting title to the painting, Nicole. It says...Interesting title to the painting, Nicole. It says 'Duties' which implies an assumed habit, as well as a range of other obligations. <br /><br />I suspect that terms like 'new man' have class origins. 'New man', in fact, feels rather Guardian to me. I never feel more middle class than when reading the Guardian, the self-anointed conscience of the enlightened middle class.<br /><br />Márai, I suspect, would have been a Telegraph reader. How complicated class is in England!George Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08889600788146987089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post-90083950066653545102009-12-18T10:29:10.178+00:002009-12-18T10:29:10.178+00:00Yes that is better, thank you. Fancy that, a new m...Yes that is better, thank you. Fancy that, a new man. I wonder how usual that was. And why the woman is shouting. The blue hat is indeed very fine, as is the soft baby flesh.Nicole Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post-84955060221956847292009-12-18T09:55:29.135+00:002009-12-18T09:55:29.135+00:00I've put up a different source. See if this is...I've put up a different source. See if this is better.. Do let me know...George Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08889600788146987089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post-25365283519069699832009-12-18T09:49:43.202+00:002009-12-18T09:49:43.202+00:00That's strange, Nicole. I can see the picture ...That's strange, Nicole. I can see the picture before me as I write...<br /><br />I'll try to find another version of it.George Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08889600788146987089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4638619958588096610.post-59498348885272466912009-12-18T09:26:39.443+00:002009-12-18T09:26:39.443+00:00Belated thanks for yesterday's wonderful, extr...Belated thanks for yesterday's wonderful, extraordinarily leery and utterly hilarious song. As for today, I have no picture to look at. Perhaps it is my computer? I've enjoyed the text anyway.Nicole Snoreply@blogger.com