Art and literature: intersections and influences

¶ … Henri Matisse's painting Woman Before an Aquarium, and the poem of the same title by Patricia Hampl. The also paper look at the reasons why a poet may choose to base their work on an existing work of art.

Poets sometimes choose to write about works of art for many reasons, because they become inspired by them, or repulsed by them, or maybe because they are enraged by the work of art. Further, the work of poets can also inspire artists, for much the same reasons. Many would argue that both poets and painters are artists, and that, as such, the issue of why and how poets become inspired by paintings is irrelevant; it is argued that a painting can be as much of an inspiration for a poet as a scene from nature, or a memory, or a smell, as anything that stimulates the muse to write can be considered equal.

Matisse's painting Woman Before an Aquarium has always been a rather melancholy painting for me, and we will look in to its meaning for Matisse and Hampl.

Matisse was not a political painter, despite living through some of the most deeply traumatic events in 20th century world history (i.e., the two World Wars), and it is argued by many people that he tried to forget about 'bad' events through his work, as his paintings are all about balance, and refuge and comfort (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/matisse.html).

His paintings can be seen as manifestations of the 'ideal place', stripped away of all turmoil, striving for perfection (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/matisse.html).In its thoughtfulness, steady development, benign lucidity, and wide range of historical sources, Matisse's work utterly refutes the notion that the great discoveries of modernism were made by violently rejecting the past. His work was grounded in tradition - and in a much less restless and ironic approach to it than Picasso's (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/matisse.html).Much progression is seen in Matisse's work, and his use of color, for which he is famed developed following a stay in Collioure with Derain (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/matisse.html).

His painting Woman Before An Aquarium was painted in 1921, and was transformed by him in 1929 to a series of drawings: Face of a Young Woman and Three Goldfish in a Bowl (1929); Nude with Moroccan Mirror (1929); Nude in Interior with Venetian Lamp and Goldfish (1929); and Reclining Nude, Interior with Venetian Lamp (1929) (Neret, 1999). In this painting, he added a touch of philosophical reflection, as we wonder what the woman thinks of when she stares blankly at the fish in front of her (Neret, 1999). We wonder if she is thinking of her fate, if she is thinking that she herself is trapped, like the fish before her, like an unwitting prisoner (Neret, 1999).

The woman is painted very skilfully, as the pretext of yet another of Matisse's contrast between the transparent and the opaque, the curve and the straight line, space and light, echoes and reflections (Neret, 1999). The effect of this skilful rendition of the tranquil scene has a rather strong effect on the viewer, almost enough to send the viewer into a trance, like sleep (Neret, 1999).

It is well-known that fish, in Matisse's work represent odalisques, as both have fluid and languorous bodies and, at a subconscious level, represent both the opposition and the union between the world of water and the world of land (Neret, 1999). Odalisques (concubines, or female slaves in harems) are also a common theme in Matisse's work, as The Odalisque and his subsequent paintings following this are seen as his contribution to fauvism (Neret, 1999).

It has been argued that Matisse liked these themes, as they reflected his style of painting, slow, and measured and perfectionist (Neret, 1999). His Woman Before an Aquarium can also be seen as a play on shapes, in mockery of the Art Deco movement, which began to emit a plethora of circles and squares in their designs (Neret, 1999).

We shall now turn to the poem Woman Before an Aquarium by Patricia Hampl, which uses many of the same approaches that Matisse used in his painting towards the execution of the poem, for example, themes, colours, approaches, and styles.

The poem by Hampl uses the theme of Matisse's painting, a woman before an aquarium, and takes us on a journey to discover how and why the woman is sitting before the fish. Hampl uses poetic devices, such as repetition, similes, and metaphors, to make us feel we are in the place of this unknown woman, that we are feeling what she is feeling, waiting for what she is waiting for.

We feel the woman's emotions, through the skill with which the poem is written, and we begin to see the poem as a homage to the skill of Matisse; Hampl must have had sufficient respect for the work of Matisse to make a careful study of his approach and execution for this painting, to be able to emulate his style in her poetry.

This is one reason why poets do not often write poems based on works of art: it is a rather daunting task, to tread in the footsteps of the great, and to expect praise for doing so. It takes a particular confidence to be able to do this, and a particular talent to be able to carry it off successfully, as Hampl has done in her poem.

We began by looking at the reasons why poets may become inspired by works of art, and we argued that both poets and painters can be considered artists, and as such, that they can both be inspired by any source, be that nature, memories, feelings, or other paintings (painters are also inspired to recreate paintings, as poets are inspired to write by paintings).