Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association

Poets as Modern Art Critics: Stating the "Redemptive Power" of the Abstracted Image
Author(s): Mary Dezember

Source: Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Vol. 58, No. 1 (2004), pp. 7-29
Published by: Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association
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ArtCritics:
Poetsas Modern
the"Redemptive
Power"
Stating
oftheAbstracted
Image
MARY DEZEMBER
NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY
Si nous savions, tous les dieux s'dveilleraient.

[If we knew,all the gods would awaken.]
- poet and art critic Apollinaire'
SpiritualProblemof ModernMan," C.G. Jungdefinesthe
Intheessay"The
modern"
as one who "has come to the
of the
veryedge
"completely
person
andoutgrown,
andacknowlworld,leavingbehindhimallthathasbeendiscarded
edgingthathe standsbeforea voidoutofwhichall thingsmaygrow"(197). This
imageofthemodernpersonedgedontoan abyssofhope holds,simultaneously,
whenthereis seemdespairand promise- and a needforfaithto go forward
nowhere
to
the
when
humankind
go. However,during Renaissance,
ingly
began
itsprogression
to modernity
and to the"edgeoftheworld,"theintellect
beganits
in
over
the
faith
to
realm
of
and
gain supremacy faith,
delegating
superstition "dark
intellect
was sovereign,
and faithhad
century,
By theeighteenth
age" thinking.
a
Art
no credibility
such
reasonable
with
during
age.
corresponded thetimes,as
imagesin paintingmovedawayfromreligiousdepictionsand theGod-image,2
artistsbeganreplacing
century,
becomingmoresecular.By theearlynineteenth
theconcrete,traditionalreligiousimagesof faithwithabstractedimagesthat
colorand shape.3By the
elements,specifically
emphasizedtheircompositional
mid-nineteenth
art
was
a
century,
becoming quasi-religion
composedof these
secularsymbolsofcolorandshape,andartcriticsas themodern"priests"
to decifor
these
the
of
codes
Some
the
most
symbolic
pher
publicemerged.
adeptcritics
werepoets,as poets,likepainters,
makeimages,and likepainters
who abstracted
theirimages,poetsarrange
codes
to
create
Thus,while
(words)
symbolic
meaning.
thehumanpsychewassupposedly
faithas a viablelifeforce,thepoet-art
rejecting
criticbeganseeingintheabstracted
of
reserved
formerly
images arttheredemption
forreligion.The poet-artcriticseemedto understand
thismodern/modern
art
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Mary Dezember
thatfaith,dissociated
withconcretereligious
phenomenon:
images,remainsas it
is:abstract.
Stillitremains.
as themeaningattachedtocolorandshape
Itmanifests
of
is
abstraction
and
the
(the
images)
meaninghumanbeingsneedthemost,and
whentheyareon the"edgeoftheworld."In ourpostmodern
thuswillnotdiscard,
art
art
continues
to evokehiddenaspectsofthepsyche,and,worldwide,
society,
critics
stillareoftenpoets:newsarticles
datedfrom1974 to2003 namemorethan
critics.
thirty
poet-art
The closerelationship
oftheartformsofpoetryand paintinghasbeenarticulated since antiquity.Aristotleacknowledgedthe followingidea thatechoes
as is statedbyRensselaer
thehistory
oftheseartforms,
throughout
W. Lee:
The sisterartsas theyweregenerally
called- and [GiovanniPaolo]Lomazzo
- differed,
observes
ata singlebirth
itwasacknowl[in1585]thattheyarrived
ofexpression,
butwereconsidered
almostidentical
edged,inmeansandmanner
in fundamental
to
and in purpose.The sayingattributed
nature,in content,
is mutepoetry,
to Simonidesthatpainting
Plutarch
poetrya speaking
picture,
and Horace'sfamoussimileut
was quotedfrequently
and withenthusiasm;
picturapoesis- as is paintingso is poetry- which thewriterson artexpected
so ispainting,"
wasinvoked
moreandmoreas finalsanconetoread"asispoetry
between
thesisterartsthanHoracehimself
tionfora muchcloserrelationship
haveapproved.
wouldprobably
(3)
is poetrywritten
as artcriticism.
One exampleis
Alsowitha substantial
history
that"morethan
fromBienvenutoCellini,who reportedin his autobiography
in
were
of
his
bronze
sonnets
attached
to
1545statue,Perseus,
twenty"
posts praise
alloweditspublicviewing,and "everydaybroughtsonnets"
1554,whenhe first
thatun(382). However,theemphasisof thisstudyis theonsetofartcriticism
elveilsthearcaneredemptive
of
modern
art,
compositional
symbols
promoting
in theirownright or artelementsforartelements'
sake.
ementsas important
in
renderIn addition,thesecritiquesarewritten
poetically, lyricalthoughprose
effect
ofthe
thefeelor essenceoftheredemptive
ingsthatcaptureand transmit
in
of
elements
emphasis compositional
painting.
The criticalselectionsof thisstudy- by CharlesBaudelaire,Guillaume
RainerMaria Rilke,WassilyKandinsky,
and GertrudeStein4- ilApollinaire,
whatAnielaJaff6
callsa "psychological
lustrate
fact,"thattheartisthasbeenboth
the"instrument
and spokesmanof thespiritofhis age" (285). Much of theretheworldbybeingaffected
byit,whichpaintersand
powerto affect
generative
and poAs imaginative
poetspossess,abidesin theimagination.
beings,painters
theeyes
etscreateimages.The imagesa poetcreatesarenottransmitted
through
themindas symboliccodesoflanguage.The poetassembles
intact,butthrough
of
thesecodesto enablethereaderto "see"theimagein themind.This ordering
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Poets as Modern Art Critics
thesymbolic
codeofletters
andwordsintolanguagethatmakesimagesandmeanis
which
the
of
thepoet'swork,givesthepoetan added insightinto
nature
ing,
as symboliccodesthat,reassembled,
create
seeingabstracted
imagesin paintings
for
most
art
viewers,
onlyconcrete,
meaning.Usually,however,
tightly-painted,
hold
and
held
before
theonset
have
representational
images
meaning,especially
a
in
oftheabstracted
movement
the
arts
that
with
visual
Romantiimage,
began
cism.Thus,whenimagesin thevisualartsmovedfromtightly-rendered
representations
to the"blurred"
abstraction
unemphasison color,thenon to greater
theimagewas no longerrecognizable,
viewerswerenotsurewhateftil,finally,
fectthepainterwas making.
The poet,however,
who had theinsightto penetrate
thesemodernworksof
artpossessedthequalitiesto makeastutecritics qualitiesthatprovedtobe more
beneficial
thanhavingonlyformaltraining
in thevisualarts.Apollinaire
apparand sculpture"
entlywas a "self-taught"
analystof"painting
(Breunigxxi).Leroy
in thebattleof cubism,"
C. Breunigstatesthatone ofApollinaire's
"adversaries
in a "eulogyof'poet-critics'
criticLouisVauxcelles,
... admitsthatpoetsareoften
thanhisownconfreres,
moreperceptive
theprofessional
artcritics"(xxi).Frank
Anderson
TrappstatesthatBaudelairewrote"whatmaywellbe themostbrilliant
criticism
ofthecentury"
Aurier
(339). Poet,painterand artcriticGabriel-Albert
theabilitiesofand championedtheworkofartists
(1865-1892),whorecognized
Paul GauguinandVincentvan Gogh,statedthat"la meilleure
critiquepicturale
seratoujourscellefaiteparun porte"("Henryde Groux"225) ["thebestpictorial
willalwaysbe thatdonebya poet"(Mathews91)]. According
criticism
to Patricia
he
claim
that
"aimof
Aurier
made
this
because
believed
the
Mathews,
Townley
... is to illuminatefullythe'essentialconditions'of theworkof
good criticism
art"and the "languageof thepoet is bestsuitedforthistask"(Mathews91).
in whichhe articulates
to thefollowing
Mathewsrefers
quotebyAurier,
whythe
"idealcritic"is a poet:
... illesprecisera,
enlestransposant
Cesensembles
dans
lui,leporte,
d'idWes,
sonlangage
versouprose,
clair
et
intellipropre,
plus
langage
plus
dvidemment
estplusfamilier
universel,
alamassedeshommes,
gible,
puisqu'il
quelelangage
etdescouleurs.
maisassezisotirique,
deslignes
de
Groux"
225)
("Henry
oflanguage,
... hewillspecify
them,
he,thepoet,bytrans[Theseensembles
them
intohisownlanguage,
verse
orprose,
a language
clearer
evidently
posing
sinceitismorefamiliar
tothemassofmen,thantheuniandmoreintelligible,
oflinesandcolors.
versal
butquiteesoteric
(Mathews
91)]
language
The desireto communicate
to othersthis"esoteric
effectively
language"is a goal
ofthepoet-art
critic.Hence,forpoets,beingartcriticsmaybe lessaboutprofesSPRING
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Mary Dezember
orpowerthanitis aboutsimplycommunicating
to otherviewers
sion,authority,
whatitis thathas movedthemso profoundly.
Poets,opento theart,lookforits
encodedmessages
and feela positiveinfluence.
Too often,artcriticstrainedto be
artcriticshaveapproachedartalmostcombatively,
lookingfornothingbut its
technicalflaws,a claim diplomaticallymade by Eugene Delacroix in 1829:
n'enpaie pas moinsles fraisde toutecetteguerred'esprit,
attenduque
"L'artiste
sesjugessonttoujoursd'accordsurce point:c'estde lui montrer
charitablement
de combienil s'esttrompe"(170) ["Itis theartist
whonevertheless
paysthecosts
ofthiswarofwits,sincehisjudgesarealwaysagreedon one point,thatofshowhowbad arehismistakes"
(Pach7)]. Poetsand painters
inghim,verycharitably,
areboundbya commonmission:to communicate
to others"thespiritofhisage"
theviewingpublicabouttheartthatholdsin285). Therefore,
(Jaff6
informing
even
and
is whatinterests
thepoet-artcritic
innovation,
spiration,
redemption
morethannegatively
theability,or inability,
of theartist.This was
criticizing
in
the
modern
when
art
became
so fragmented
thatits
particularly
important
age,
weresometimes
within
arcane,holdingan "esoteric
symbols
completely
language"
"linesand colors,"as Aurierstated-what thisstudyis suggesting
is theredemptivepowerofthecompositional
elementsofcolorand shape.
Poet-art
criticsin modernity,
as the"priests"
ofsecularsymbolsthatheldthe
thatthehumanneedfor
meaningthatreligioussymbolsonceheld,understood
remains
even
when
the
traditional
ideas
of
how one gainsredempredemption
tiondiminishes.
writesthatJung"observed
theChristian
Jaff6
God-imagefading
in hispatients'
dreams- thatis,in theunconscious
ofmodernmen"(295). Or,
as Aurierstatedin 1892: "L'amourde Dieu ne nous estpluspermis"("Preface"
us" (Chipp 88)]. This casualtyof
332) ["The loveofGod is no longerpermitted
themodernpsychewas moresignificant
thanitmayseem,as JaffR
writesthatthe
"lossofthatimageisthelossofthesupreme
factor
thatgiveslifea meaning"(295).
The imageofGod and otherreligiousfigures,
intothehumanpsyche
impressed
fromthousandsofyearsofreligious
createdthrough
art,was nottheeximagery
clusiveholderof a redemptive
however.
no
Art,
power,
longerexpectedto be a
servicemediumforconveying
traditional
stillseemedtoservea
religious
imagery,
its
This
is
purpose through symbolicpower.
religious
partlydue to thepower
ofwhatJaff&
callsthe"symbol-making
ofhumankind.
She writes:
propensity"
Man, withhis symbol-making
propensity,
unconsciouslytransforms
objectsor
formsinto symbols(therebyendowingthemwith greatpsychologicalimportance) and expressesthemboth in his religionand in his visual art.... Even today,as modernpaintingand sculptureshow,the interplayof religionand artis
stillalive. (257)
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wereconveying
criticswerefeeling
Whatmodernartists
and poet-art
was theretheimage:thecompositional
elements
within,
demptive
powerbehind,orinstilled
theimage,specifically
thatconstruct
the"symbols"
of colorand shape.Hence,
feltin theabstraction
oftheimages,through
criticsofmodernity
intense
poet-art
a transforming
ideaofgrace.
andeffective
powersimilartothereligious
rendering,
as
these
for
art
elements
themselves,
Simultaneously, symbols
spoke
beingimportheirimportance
tantin theirownright.And,to poet-art
was significant:
critics,
was humanity's
last
salvation.Artas salvation,accordingto Aurier,
theyoffered
hope. "Un seul amournous est encoreloisible,celui des oeuvresd'art,"Aurier
donc surcetteultimeplanchede salut.Devenonsles myswrote."Jetons-nous
332) ["One lovealoneis stillallowedus,thatofworks
tiquesde l'art"("Preface"
of art.Let us, therefore,
flingourselvesupon thislastplankof salvation.Let us
ofart"(Chipp 89)].
becomemystics
ofart,"mostprofessional
Whilepoet-artcriticsbecameenthusiastic
"mystics
Therecan be a fearofart
artcriticsand thegeneralpublicshowedno suchfervor.
In
than
fear
of
his
book ThePoweroflmno
less
the
God.
bythegeneralpublic,
and Theory
David Freedberg
exploresthe
ofResponse,
ages:Studiesin theHistory
writes
that
"we
fearthe
effects
of imagesupon theviewingpublic.Freedberg
ofmasterof imageson ourselves"
of theeffects
(429). The mutilation
strength
writes,is due to thecombinationof
pieces,or "attackson images"as Freedberg
and "fearofthesenses"(410).
motivation,"
"political
"Moralizingdisapproval,"
haslookedto artfortheGod-image,including
thepublichistorically
Conversely,
the
and
other
than
before
imagesof theChristianGod, such "Phidia's
images
fora faithconnection,
for
statueofZeus" (Freedberg
44), fora positiveinfluence,
refers
to
the
a redemptive
this
human
tradition,
power.Concerning
Freedberg
Leon
Battista
the
from
1435,
Alberti,
by
concerning
following
passage
Depictura,
in paintingon thepublic:
effect
of"God-images"
nonmodoutquodde
Namhabetea quideminse vimadmodum
divinam
esse
verum
etiamdefunctos
absentes
amicitia
dicunt,
pictura
praesentes faciat,
ut
summa
cum
artificis
admiratione
ac
viventibus
exhibeat,
longapostsaecula
vero
deosexpresserit
visentium
Quod
quos
voluptate
pictura
cognoscantur....
maximumid quidem mortalibusdonum fuissecensendum
gentesvenerentur,
coniuncti
sumus,
est,namad pietatem
qua superis
atquead animosintegra
quadam cum religionedetinendosnimiumpicturaprofuit.(Alberti60)
a truly
inthatnotonlydoesitmaketheabsent
divine
possesses
[Painting
power
butitalsorepresents
thedeadtotheliving
(asthey
sayoffriendship),
present
alsoconsider
centuries
later....
Weshould
ita very
tomenthat
many
great
gift
paintinghas representedthe gods theyworship,forpaintinghas contributed
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Mary Dezember
to thepietywhichbindsus to thegods,and to filling

ourminds
considerably
withsoundreligious
beliefs.
61)]
(Grayson
Whiletheviewingpublicofmodernity
to filltheir
mayhavelookedto paintings
wereno longerobvious.By
minds,theimagesto create"soundreligiousbeliefs"
thetwentieth
"The
of
states,
Jaff6
century,
pioneers modernart... apparently
howmuchtheywereaskingofthepublic.Neverhaveartists
understood
published
so many'manifestoes'
and explanations
oftheiraims"(287). However,nearlya
imbeforeartists
theabstracted
ofmanifestoes,
century
begantheirproliferation
of
were
viewers
to
stretch
their
the
conbeyond
ages modernity asking
thinking
creteimage.WithouttheGod-image,
andeventually
withoutanyrepresentational
werebeingaskedto searchtheirownsoulsfortheirreligious
imageat all,viewers
Most
beliefs,and thatis a taskofwhichthegeneralpublicis hesitantor fearful.
trainedartcriticswerenot helpingthepublicto understand
the
professionally
in
which
is
the
first
The
fear.
however,
critic,
step alleviating
poet-art
change,
to understand
thisnewand powerful
appearedto helpthepublicfirst
phenomenonand thento formulate
for
the
is
to going
accustomed
ideas,
poet
"religious"
to theplacesthatheorshefearsmostandthenputtingtheexperience
intowords.
can leadto redemption,
Andbecausesucha searchcausesfear,butultimately
the
as VirgilguidedDante: a scenedepictedbya
criticcan guidethereader,
poet-art
Delacroix
The
painting, BarqueofDante, 1922 - titledin French,Le
Eugene
Dante et Virgile
aux Enfers[Danteand Virgilin Hell] - thatcausedan uproar
fromthe public and frommostcritics,but not frompoet-artcriticCharles
Baudelaire.
The artcriticism
oftheredemptive
bypoetsas theunveiling
symbolsofmodernart,whichsimultaneously
in
elements
as important
promotedcompositional
theirown right,emergedwithsignificant
of the
impactupon theconvergence
abstracted
of
Romantic
artist
Delacroix
and
the
admiration
passionatetechnique
ofthetechniquebyredemption-seeking
poet-artcriticBaudelaire(1821-1867).
in 1845, publishedin 1857 his
Baudelaire,who beganpublishingartcriticism
book ofpoetry,
LesFleursdu Mal [Flowers
signature
ofEvil],and in 1862 forLa
Presse
a collectionofprosepoetry,
or as he referred
to themPetits
Poemesenprose.
As is vividlyshownin LesFleursdu Mal, Baudelairewas tormented
byhis own
his
to
that
of
the
church's
inability reject religious
training,
particularly
dogmatic
insistence
upon humanguiltand sin and theopposingforcesof good and evil
In "CharlesBaudelairetheCatholic,"Franqois
withinhumancharacter.
warring
MauriacwritesofBaudelaire's
needforredemption
and hisexpressive
LesFleurs
it.
duMal: "Down to hisdyingday,he listenedto hispoorsoulandhe confessed
The flowers
ofevilaretheflowers
ofsin,ofrepentance,
ofremorse
andpenitence"
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he was seekingredemption
fromwhathe viewedas thehorror
(30). Continually
He wroteinhisjournal,"Toutenfant,
ofhishumanness.
j'ai sentidansmoncoeur
contradictoires:
de la vieetI'extasede la vie"(LesFleurs
deuxsentiments
l'horreur
I
in
sentiments:
a
felt
heart
two
horrorforlife
child,
260) ["As
contradictory
my
and ecstasyforlife"(Fowlie261)]. Baudelairefoundsolacein whathe viewedas
and "aspiration
versl'infini"("aspiration
modernart,forit offered
"spiritualitd"
towardtheabsolute");(Salonde 1846 879; Mayne,Art47). He wrotein hisfa- c'estditartmoderne,
mouscritical
piece,Salonde 1846,"Qui ditromantisme
versl'infini,
a-direintimitd,
couleur,aspiration
spiritualite,
partousles
exprimdes
contiennent
les
arts"
de
the
word
Roman(Salon 1846879) ["To say
moyensque
ticismis to saymodernart- thatis,intimacy,
tocolour,aspiration
spirituality,
the
means
available
to
the
Art
wards infinite,
arts"(Mayne, 47)].
expressed
byevery
In Romanticism,
whatBaudelairecalledmodernart,he sawandfelttheecstasyof
need forthosemomentsof gracecamewhenviewing
life,and his ever-present
thispowerful
art.
withpoeticfiThroughouttheSalonde 1846, Baudelairewritesartcriticism
nesse.In sectionIII, "De la Couleur"["On Color"],Baudelairewrotea passage
thatreadsas ifitwerea poem,whatRogerShattuck
refers
toas Baudelaire's
"first"
In
this
Baudelaire
color
itsefextolled
and
section,
prosepoem (Shattuck140).
fectson theviewer,
and in thissensehe,as artcritic,explainedandpromotedthe
use ofcolorratherthancritiqueda particular
artist.In this"prosepoem"ofsectionIII, selections
ofwhichfollow,emphasizedis theartelementofcolorrather
thanwhatthecolorrepresents,
whichis whatnon-representational
artwilldo
of theredemptive
nearlyseventy
yearslater,as wellas his suggestion
powerthat
colorhas on thepsyche:
- lerouge
- quandilyena,- zerosolitaire
chante
la gloire
lenoir,
duvert;
etinsignifiant,
Lebleu,c'est-a-dire
lesecours
dubleuoudurouge.
le
intercede
flocons
blancs
oudemasses
ciel,estcoupedeklgers
grises....
fanfares
descend
dansleseaux,derouges
detous
s'dlancent
Quandlegrand
foyer
harmonie
et le verts'empourpre
c6tes;unesanglante
&clatea l'horizon,
Maisbient6t
richement.
devastes
ombres
bleues
chassent
encadence
devant
elles
lafoule
sont
comme
destonsoranges
etrosetendre
lointain
et
affaibli
l'&cho
qui
delalumitre.
Cettegrande
dejour,quiestI'eternelle
variation
dela
symphonie
de melodies,ouila varietesorttoujoursde
d'hier,cettesuccession
symphonie
cethymne
lacouleur.
l'infini,
(Salonde1846881)
s'appelle
compliqud
- a solitary
theglory
ofgreen;
itexists
black(where
andinsignifi[-red sings
onbehalf
ofblueorred.Theblue- thatis,theskycantcipher)
intercedes
iscutacross
ofwhite
orwithgrey
withairyflecks
masses....
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Mary Dezember
ofthesundipsbeneath
Whenthegreat
brazier
thewaters,
fanfares
ofredsurge
onallsides;a harmony
ofbloodflares
forth
andgreen
turns
upatthehorizon,
crimson.
Soonvastblueshadows
them
arerhythmically
before
richly
sweeping
thehostoforange
which
echoof
androse-pink
tones
arelikea faint
anddistant
thelight.
Thisgreat
oftoday,
isaneternal
which
variation
ofthesymsymphony
thissuccession
ofmelodieswhosevariety
everissuesfrom
phonyofyesterday,
theinfinite,
thiscomplex
iscalledcolour.
Art48-49)]
(Mayne,
hymn
to deciphering
"a
What Baudelairehas done in theabovepassageis significant
newcode"in thefollowing
ways.
howpaintings
shouldbe seenand
First,he askstheviewerofartto reconsider
the
to
manner
oftheAcadassessed.Unliketheorganization
bygenreaccording
ofhisfirst
art
Portraits,
Landscapes,Drawingsand Engravings)
emy(i.e. History,
critique,Salonde 1845, BaudelaireorderedSalonde 1846 accordingto thestandardshe believeda new,modernartshoulddisplay.Expoundingon colorand on
Delacroix,eachin a sectionoftheirown,hewantedtheviewingpublicto seeart
Delacroix'spassionateabilityto disfortheelementofcolorand to understand
critique,he seemedfrustrated
playcolor.In thepreviousyear'smoretraditional
in one paragraph,
he asked
andfinally,
withtheselectionofarthewascritiquing,
for"l'originalit6"
(Salonde 1845 835) in technique.
ofcolor
he
thesignificance
ofcolorin itsownright,
Second, promotes
writing
as secondary,
suchas in "Le bleu,c'est-aand theimageit represents
as primary
floconsblancsou de massesgrises"["The bluedirele ciel,estcoupede lkgers
thatis,thesky- is cutacrosswithairyflecksofwhiteorwithgreymasses"].
in art.He suggests
thatwhatone seesin the
Third,he discussessynaesthesia
with melodies.Thus,
world,or in a painting,is color that is synonymous
Baudelaireclaimsthattheviewercan see music;we can see a symphony
playing
the
beforeourveryeyes.In addition,he statesthathe is seeingsimultaneously
withthesunset,byseeing,feeling,
colorand itsintenseintersymphony
noticing
itself
for
what
it
This
was
a majorsteptowardmodfor
rather
than
represents.
play
ernart,whenimagesbecameso abstracted
thattheviewercouldseeorfeeloreven
what
colorsdepict.
the
colors
more
so
than
the
hear
nearly
thepositiveimpactofcoloron theviewer,
and
thepassageexhibits
Ultimately,
Baudelairechoosesto describethispositiveemotionwithwordsthathavetradihelda redemptive
tionally
power:"la gloire"["glory"],
"sanglante"
["blood"],5"la
and "cethymne"
foule"["host"],"la lumiere"["light"],"l'dternelle"
["eternal"],
thepassageis written
as iftheviewerwereinvolved
["thishymn"].Additionally,
Thisistheritual
ina beautiful,
ritual
that
effect.
has
a
powerful
purifying
stunning
of lifeas seenthroughartthatcapturesthepowerof colordisplayedbynature,
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a typeof"blurring"
eachhuenotbeingseparateorexclusive
fromtheothers,
techof lifeof
nique ofwhichDelacroixwas champion.In thepassionatesymphony
an ecstaticmomentwhilebeingcaughtup
Baudelaire's
passage,one experiences
in thecolor,and in thisecstasy,
all is eternally
beautiful
and right.
In sectionIV ofBaudelaire's
Salonde 1846, titled"EugeneDelacroix,"which
"De la Couleur,"Baudelairestateshis endorsefollows
the
section
strategically
mentof Delacroix'snew technique.Baudelairewrote,"Jusqu'apresenton a dtd
sauf
injusteenversEugeneDelacroix.La critiquea dtdpourluiamereetignorante;
quelquesnoblesexceptions"(Salon de 1846 888) ["Up to thepresent,Eugene
forhim,has been bitterand ignoDelacroixhas metwithinjustice.Criticism,
rant;withone or twonobleexceptions
(Mayne,Art55)].6 Baudelairewasseeing
withuncommoneyes:Delacroixwas creating
witha passionofstyleand emphasison colorthatdefiedtheaccepted"finished"
delineatedobjects.
styleofstrictly
Delacroix'sartcreateda sensation.BernardS. Myerswrites,
For thefirsttime,theconservative
viewpointof moneyedpeople and thealmost
malevolentmisunderstanding
ofcritics,bothimplacablyopposed to innovations
in art,emergedto plague thefuturedevelopmentof painting.Delacroix,who at
theage of twenty-six
had alreadypaintedhis sensationalTheBarque ofDante ...
and TheMassacreat Scio ... was to remainforthe restof his lifea controversial
figure.(54)
of
criticism
theoriginality
Baudelaireproceededto banishignorant
byexplaining
Delacroix'sworkthatwas based on such combinedqualitiesas "la couleur"
"lanaivete["naivete"],
"lesconsequences
"sapoesie"["hispoetry"],
d'une
["color"],
grandepassion["theconsequencesof a grandpassion"],and "la douleur"["anofthesequaliguish"](Salonde 1846 885-894;Mayne,Art52-67). Onlythefirst
elementsofpainting,
whichalso include
ties,color,is one of thecompositional
and line.
balance,shape,space,proportion,
rhythm,
repetition,
weight,texture,
of Delacroixhad beenignorantin part
Thus, accordingto Baudelaire,criticism
hadbeenjudgedaccording
to thestrict
dictates
oftheFrench
becausehispaintings
are
Delacroix's
works
Academyconcerning
masterfully
composed,emtechnique.
use ofbalance,space,shape,proportion,
and
ployingmeticulous
weight,rhythm
on
that
was
Biblical
and
classical
His
matter
based
literary,
repetition. subject
themesoftendid meetwithAcademyregulations.
Thoughhisworkmeritedand
his use ofcolorto "draw"and blurthedivineline
was awardedstatepatronage,
in technique.Further,
Delacroix
challenged evendefied-Academy standards
to show,givinga newconceptto texture.
allowedhisbrushstrokes
the
Ultimately,
fortheartistic
Academyhadno standards
displayofardentemotionthatBaudelaire
as an artist.Delacroixcalledthesequalilistedas Delacroix'sadditionalstrengths
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Mary Dezember
ties "spontaneousinspiration,"
writingin defenseof such a style:"Le pauvre
de
homme m&tier,
celuisurtoutqu'on critiqueau nomde cetteinspiration
toute
a
a
la
tres
en
d'un
mauvaise
spontan&e,
appeler
grace
jugementoih passionn'est
onewhoiscriticenseeentrer
artist,
pourrien"(169) ["Theunfortunate
especially
is
for
cizedbecauseofhisspontaneous
inspiration,badlyplaced appealingagainst
absent"(Pach6)].
a judgmentfromwhichpassionis supposedto be entirely
SeventeenyearsafterDelacroixwrotethispassage,Baudelairepubliclysupuseof
portedDelacroix's"spontaneous
"passion,"and hisrebellious
inspiration,"
colorand blurred"line."Nine yearslater,afterdevotingan entiresectionofhis
ofcolor,Baudelaire
wasstillinsisting
on itsprominence
critiquetotheimportance
in artandwas stillcrediting
as an elementin its
theemergence
ofitssignificance
ownrightwiththestyleofDelacroix.7Of theChasseaux Lions[TheLionHunt],
1855, Baudelairewrotein thesameyear:"La Chaseeaux Lionsestune v&ritable
explosionde couleur(que ce motsoitprisdansle bon sens).Jamaiscouleursplus
ne penetrerent la'me parle canaldes yeux"(Exposibelles,plusintenses,
jusqu't
tion972) ["TheLionHuntis a veritable
explosionofcolour(thewordisintended
in itsgood sense).Nevercan coloursmorebeautifulor moreintensehavepenetratedto thesoul throughthechannelof theeyes!"(Mayne,Mirror216)]. He
for
addedthatDelacroix'scolor"penseparelle-meme"
973) ["thinks
(Exposition
itself"(Mayne,Mirror216)]. Baudelaireexplainedwithwordsthatcouldjar art
viewerswhowereunaccustomed
emotionalsensations
into
to strong,
immediate
newwaysofexperiencing
and judgingart:
comme
lessorciers
etlesmagnetiseurs,
sa
On dirait
peinture,
quecette
projette
"
\
a
ph'nom"netient la puissancede coloriste,
pens'e distance.Ce singulier
dans
le
cerveau
du
l'accordparfait
destons,eta l'harmonie
(prietablie
peintre)
entrela couleuretle sujet.(Exposition
972)
likea magicianora hypnotist,
[Italmostseemsas thoughthiskindofpainting,
Thiscuriousphenomenon
canprojectitsthought
ata distance.
results
fromthe
colourist's
concordofhis tonesand fromthe
specialpower,fromtheperfect
in thepainter's
whichis pre-established
brain,betweencolourand
harmony,
216)]
(Mayne,Mirror
subject-matter.
The argument
intheearlytomid-1800soverwhether
lineshouldtakeprecedence
overcolorwas an important
one, foughtlargelyin favorofcolorbyDelacroix's
If thisargument
artand Baudelaire's
artcriticism.
couldbe won,thenartcould
breakfromtheclassicalinsistence
uponlineanda modernartcouldbegin,giving
thelicensetobreakfromthepastinallcompositional
artists
Delacroix
techniques.
wroteoftheresistance
bycriticsto sucha change:
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II fautvois s'ouvriralors l'arsenaldes autorites,et se d6ployerla serieimposante

Celuides grandsmodulesqui mettenta rienvotredloquenceet tousvos efforts.
ci combat pour le contouret vous terrasseavec la ligne de beaut : ils discutent

sans finsur la presdancedu dessinou de la couleur.... (170)
[Andso a wholearsenalofauthorities
opens up, and greatmodels,in an imposing
series,are paradedbeforeyou, reducingto nothingyoureloquence and yourbest
efforts.
Here is a fighter
forcontour:he floorsyou withthelineofbeauty.Endless
discussionsrageovertheprimacyof drawingas againstcolor.... (Pach 7)]
in
whenBaudelaireenteredthemilieuofartcriticism
Again,unlikeothercritics,
line.In 1846,
useofcoloroverstrict
1845,he endorsedandapplaudedDelacroix's
Baudelairewrote:"Delacroixestle seulaujourd'huidontl'originalite
n'aitpas 6te
envahieparle systeme
des lignesdroites;sespersonnages
sonttoujoursagites,et
et
les
imiterles palpitaveulent
sesdraperies
qui
voltigeantes.... pour coloristes,
tionseternelles
de la nature,les lignesne sontjamais,commedansI'arc-en-ciel,
la
intime
de deuxcouleurs"(Salonde 1846892) ["Delacroixis theonly
fusion
que
artisttodaywhoseoriginality
has not beeninvadedbythetyrannical
systemof
his
his
are
restless
and
for
lines; figures always
draperiesfluttering....
straight
who seekto imitatetheeternalthrobbings
of nature,linesarenever
colourists,
elsebuttheintimate
fusionoftwocolours,as in therainbow"(Mayne,
anything
Art59)]. Stillcombatingthesupremacy
ofthelinein 1855, Baudelairewrote:
si absurdement,
Du dessinde Delacroix,
si niaisement
dire,
que faut-il
critique,
si ce n'estqu'ilestdesverites1Clmentaires
complktement
qu'unbon
m&connues;
dessin n'est pas une ligne dure, cruelle,despotique, immobile,enfermantune
figurecomme une camisole de force;que le dessin doit trecomme la nature,

vivantet agitd....(Exposition973)
[Of Delacroix'sdrawing,which has been so absurdlyand so banallycriticized,
what am I to say,exceptthatit is one of thoseelementarytruthswhicharecompletelymisunderstood?What am I to say,exceptthata good drawingis not a
that
hard,cruel,despoticand rigidline, imprisoninga formlikea strait-jacket?
drawingshould be like nature,alive and in motion?(Mayne, Mirror217)]
whenPablo Picassoappearedon theartscene,the

By theend ofthecentury,
insistence
standardwas abatingto theinsisbycriticsofstrictlineas an artistic
tenceofartists
and thus,linesno longerdefinedan object,
forgreater
abstraction,
In praiseofPicasso'sstyle
andcolorsexpressed
deepemotions,
longing,searching.
thatdemonstrated
GuillaumeApollinaire
(1880-1918) wrotecritideepfeeling,
AftermeetingPicasso,Apollinaire
wrotean essayon
cismthatsoundslikepoetry.
theyoungartistas a newpainterforLa Plumein Parisof May 14, 1905 which
was "thefirst
seriouspieceto appearon theSpanishpainter"(Breunigxxii).The
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17
Mary Dezember
first
lineofthispiecelyrically
touslesdieuxs'eveilleraient"
begins:"Si noussavions,
35) ["Ifwe knew,all thegodswouldawaken"(Suleiman14)]."
(Apollinaire
fromPicasso'sBluePeriodof 1901-1904andhisensuing
Describing
paintings
circus themes that began in 1905 - an example being The Family of
1905 (Walther91)9 - Apollinairecontinuedthiscritiquethat
Saltimbanques,
couldsecondfora prosepoem.NoticehowApollinaire
intersperses
description
and factswithpoetryand withsuggestions
as how to readthepaintingsin the
selectionoflinesfromthecritique[emphasisadded]:
following
Picassoa regarde
desimageshumaines
dansl'azurdenosmemoires
qui flottaient
et qui participent
de la divinitd
donner
des
Qu'ils sont
pour
metaphysiciens.
ses
ciels
tout
remuds
ses
lumieres
lourdes
et
basses
comme
d'envolement,
pieux
cellesdesgrottes.
D'autresmendiants
se sontusesa la vie.Ce sontdesinfirmes,
desbdquillards
et
des bdlitres.
d'avoiratteintle butqui estrestebleuet n'est
Ils s'etonnent
plus
l'horizon.
bleuecomme
mouillke,
L'espaced'uneannee,Picassovacutcettepeinture
lefond
humide
de l'abimeetpitoyable.
Le calmevintaprescettefrendsie.
Le arlequinsviventsousles oripeauxquandla peinture
ou
rechauffe
recueille,
blanchit
sescouleurs
dire
et
duree
des
les
la force la
pour
quand lignes
passions,
se coupentou s'dlancent.
parle maillotse courbent,
limitdes
On ne peutpasconfondre
cessaltimbanques
avecdeshistrions.
Leurspectateur
doit trepieux,
carilscalebrent
desritesmuetsavecuneagilitedifficile.
(35-38)
[Picassohaslookedat humanimagesthatfloatedin theazureofourmemories
and thatpartake
ofthedivineto thedamnation
ofmetaphysicians.
How pious
arehisskiesstirred
ofwings,hislightsheavyandlowlikethe
bythemovement
lightsofgrottoes.
Otherbeggars
havebeenwornoutbylife.Theyarethecripples,
thedisabled,
andtheknaves.
are
astonished
at
reached
the
that
hasremained
They
having
goal
blueyetis nolonger
thehorizon.
Forthespaceofoneyear,Picassolivedthispainting,
wetand bluelikethehumid
the
and
depths
of abyss, pitiful.
Calmdescended
afterthisfrenzy.
The harlequins
livebeneaththeirraggedfinery
whilethepainting
heats
gathers,
itscolors
in order
totellofthestrength
and theduration
up,orwhitens
ofpassions,
whilethelinesoutlining
thecostumecurve,soarup,orarecutshort.
One cannotconfuse
thesesaltimbanques
withmereactorson a stage.Thespectatorwhowatches
them
mustbepious,
fortheycelebrate
wordless
riteswithpains(Suleiman
14-16)]
takingagility.
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theword"bleue"["blue"],
Bychoosingtheword"l'azur"["azure"]and repeating
theimportance
reinforces
ofPicasso'ssingular
Apollinaire
passionduringhisBlue
alsodescribes
howPicasso,through
thenearlyexclusive
Period.Apollinaire
useof
thatsimultablue and throughhis style,infusesthepaintingwitha humanity
embraces
the
divine
and
rituals
that
heasks
neously
performs
provideredemption;
whowatchesthesaltimbanques,
thatthespectator
and thepainting,
do so witha
reverent
attitude.
In anothersentencefromthepreceding
theaccritique,
Apollinaire
separates
theharlequins,
tionofthesubjectmatter,
fromtheactionoftheelements
ofcom"Les
vivent
sous
les
added]:
arlequins
position [emphasis
oripeauxquand la
sescouleurs
ou blanchit
peinturerecueille,
richauffe
pourdirelaforceetla dureedes
les
le
se
ou s'elancent"
limities
maillot
secoupent
courbent,
passions,
par
quand lignes
livebeneaththeirraggedfinery
whilethepaintinggathers,
(37) ["Theharlequins
heatsup,orwhitensitscolorsin orderto tellofthestrength
and thedurationof
passions,whilethelinesoutliningthecostumecurve,soarup, or arecutshort"
(Suleiman15)]. Such separationhelpstheviewerto see thecompositionas exthusbeingmorethana meretechniqueforcreating
the
pressivein and ofitself,
In
of
this
furthers
the
idea
that
Baudelaire
way,Apollinaire
subject harlequins.
that
modern
art- thatelementsofcompositionareas
and
a
promoted
signals
Two
yearsafterApollinairewritesthiscritique,
importantas subjectmatter.
thisidea and willbe inPicasso'sLesDemoiselles
1907,willhighlight
d'Avignon,
in initiating
whatMatissewilllabel"Cubism."
strumental
howRainerMariaRilke(1875-1926) did notwriteartessaysforpublication;
ofwhattranslator
ever,he did writemanyletters
JaneBannardGreenecalls"ento
thusiastic
(179) describing
discovery"
paintings hiswifeClara,whowasa sculpofa "Mr.Bernheim"
tor,thatarenowreadbyartviewers.
Goingtothe"storeroom"
Rilke
Van
one
viewed
"some
ofwhichfollows:
(Greene185),
Goghs," description
- undendlich:
einevondenLandschaften,
wieersieimmer
verschob
unddoch
immer
wiederschonmalte:untergehende
Sonne,gelbundorangerot,
umgeben
von ihremScheinaus gelben,rundenBruchstiicken:
vollerAuflehnung
Blau,
einen
durch
Streifen
Blau, Blau dagegender Hang geschwungener
Hiigel,
(einflui?)vonderDimmerung
beschwichtigender
Schwingungen
abgetrennt,
in dunklem
vorderen
Dritteldes Bildes
die durchsichtig
Altgold,im schrigen
Garbenaufrecht
erkennen
einFeldundaufgehockte
(35)
lifdt.
suchas he alwaysthrust
asideandyetkept
oneofthoselandscapes
[Andfinally
on painting:
and
surrounded
sun,yellow orange-red,
byitsglowcomsetting
of
of
rebellious
daubs.
Full
blue,blue,blue,on theother
posed round,yellow
is
the
of
the
vibrations
hand,
hill,separated
curving
slope
bya stripofsoothing
in
which
the
from transparent
darkantiquegoldofthedusk
is visible,
(a river?)
SPRING
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19
Mary Dezember
intheslanting
oftheforeground,
lowerthird
a fieldanda huddle
ofupright
sheaves.
(Greene
185-186)]
oftheword"Blau,"help
Rilke'swordchoiceand composition,
suchas repetition
the
feel
of
Van
and
give
Gogh'spainting,describing echoingVan Gogh'sstyle.
thesimultaneous
Moreover,Rilkeunderstands
yetopposinghumanemotions
in theartisticcompositionof
are
that
("rebellious"
yet"soothing")
symbolized
shapeandcolor(the"glowcomposedofround,yellowdaubs";an excessof"blue"
Rilkedescribes"a stripofsoothingvibrations"
Interestingly,
being"rebellious").
as justwhattheyare:therhythmic
theviewerby"soothing"
him
shapesthateffect
- and in this,theimportant
claimthatthesearemoreimportant
thantheobject
a river,
beingdepictedbytheshapes.Unsureiftheshapesaresupposedtorepresent
areimportant;
are
Rilkeexpresses
thattheshapesthemselves
"sooththey symbols,
If
is
vibrations"
that
on
the
viewer.
the
bestow
peace
depiction supposedto be
ing
a river,
Van Goghabstracted
theimageto thepointthattheabstracted
imageitselfis whatholdstheredemptive
over
the
viewer.
power
thearcanesymbolsof abunderstand
However,Rilkedid not immediately
stracted
thisnewcodemaynothavebeenimmediate
forother
art,anddeciphering
In a letter
critics.
ofOctober10, 1907,Rilkewrote:"Ichwarheutewieder
poet-art
zweiStundenvoreinzelnenBildern;miristdas irgendwie
fiihlich"(26)
niitzlich,
This is somehow
["TodayagainI spenttwohoursin frontof certainpictures.
to unlockforhimself
usefulto me,I feel"(Greene183)]. Trying
Cezanne'swork,
Rilkecontinued:
Abermanbraucht
alles.Wennichmicherinnere,
wie
lange,langeZeitffir
befremdet
undunsicher
mandieersten
Sachen
als
sie
mit
dem
sah,
neugeh6rten
Namen
zusammen
voreinem
waren.
Unddannlangenichts,
undplbtzlich
hat
mandierichtigen
Augen....(26)
takes
WhenI remember
a long,longtime.
howstrange
anddis[Buteverything
thefirst
seemed
tomewhenI lookedatthem
andsawthem
concerting
things
meassociated
witha nameI hadnever
Andthennothing
before
heard
before.
andsuddenly
fora longtime,
onehastheright
183)]
eyes....(Greene
and interpret
Developing"die richtigen
Augen"["therighteyes"]to experience
lifewas essentialto Rilke,and he apparently
did so byviewingart.One of his
mostfamouspoems,"Archaischer
TorsoofApollo"],was
TorsoApollos"["Archaic
his
of
a
of
the
inspiredby study
sculpture.
though
Writing
stunningsculpture,
"defaced"(and thussomewhat"abstracted"),
Rilkedescribes
itspoweras art.The
laststanzaofthepoemstatesthattheviewercannothelpbutbe affected
bythe
art.Withoutitsbrilliant
Rilke
writes,thisart:
power,
undbrAche
nichtaus allenseinenRandern
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auswieeinStern:
denndaistkeineStelle,
diedichnicht
sieht.
Du muftdeinLebendindern.
(lines12-14)
alltheborders
ofitself,
not,from
[would
isnoplace
likea star:forherethere
burst
thatdoesnotseeyou.Youmust
yourlife.
change
61)]
(Mitchell
Withthispoem,Rilkeassertsthatart"sees"theviewerand searchestheviewer's
lifeand soul.And iftheartis "dazzling"enough,it askstheviewerto change.In
thisdazzlingexchange
artoffers
viewers
the
interaction,
ofviewer-to-art-to-viewer
thento changetheirlivesto be as authentically
chanceto lookatthemselves,
illuas theartitself.
minedorenlightened
toviewers.
This
Thus,artoffers
redemption
the
most
reason
write
about
for
the
be
work
of a
art,
whypoets
may
significant
fora life
poetand theworkofan artistaresimilar- bothlookwithimagination
withmeaning,a lifeofchangein searchofthe"new."
Withinjusta fewyearsafter
ofPicasso'semphasis
Apollinaire's
understanding
on thesymbolicqualitiesof colorand shapeand Rilke'scomprehension
ofVan
Gogh'ssimilaremphasis,WassilyKandinsky(1866-1944) led thewayto artas
or "non-representational."
Suchworksshowthattheelements
"pureabstraction"
ofcomposition
arethesubjectmatter
helda spirituality.
This
and,forKandinsky,
sense
abstract
was
of
the
of
art,Kandinskybelieved,
spiritual
ability abstracted
to
stir
which
is
the
soul
and
offer
to
also
one definition
of
life,
harmony
images
In 1911, Kandinsky's
in derKunst[Concernbook ilberdas Geistige
redemption.
in
was
a
selection
of
which
of
the
Art]
published,
comparestheeffect
ing Spiritual
inpoetrytotheeffect
inart:bothtechniques,
ofimageabstraction
wordrepetition
he claims,disconnectthe establishedmeaningto allow a spiritualelementto
emerge.He writes:
Ebenso
wirdsogar
derabstrakt
Sinndesbezeichneten
gewordene
Gegenstandes
der
reine
des
Wortes
undnur
Diesen<<reinen>
vergessen
Klang
Klang
entbl6lt.
auchimZusammenklange
mitdemrealenoder
hirenwirvielleicht
unbewuft
Im letztenFalleabertritt
abstrakt
dieserreine
spditer
gewordenen
Gegenstande.
undiibteinendirekten
Druckaufdie Seeleaus.Die
KlangindenVordergrund
Seelekommtzu einergegenstanslosen
Vibration....(Ober46)
indrawing,
theabstract
oftheobjectdrawntendsto be for[Similarly,
message
we unconsciously
lost.Sometimes
hearthisreal
perhaps
gottenanditsmeaning
orlateron withthenon-material
withthematerial
harmony
sounding
together
senseoftheobject.Butin thelattercase thetrueharmony
exercises
a direct
SPRING
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ROCKY
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21
Mary Dezember
on thesoul.Thesoulundergoes
an emotion
whichhasno relation
to
impression
anydefinite
object....(Sadler15)]
It is interesting
to notethesimilarities
withthe"prosepoem"passagewritten
in
one,written
by Baudelaire"De la Couleur"["On Color"]and thefollowing
wasa poetanda criticof
1913 byKandinsky,
who,in additionto beinga painter,
art.Thispassage,fromhisessay"Riickblicke"
readsas though
["Reminiscences"],
he isdescribing
a composition
hewillpaintthreeyearslater,titledMoskauI [Moscow1], 1916, and relays,likeBaudelaire's
feelabout the
passage,a redemptive
in
and
of
the
color
life:
found
daily
beauty power
Die Sonneschmilzt
derwieeinetolle
ganzMoskauzu einemfleckzusammen,
Tubadas ganzeInnere,die ganzeSeeleinVibration
versetzt.
Nein,nichtdiese
roteEinheitlichkeit
istdie sch6nste
Stunde!Das istnurderSchlufakkord
der
wie
die
Farbe
Leben
die
Moskau
zum
Symphonie, jede
bringt, ganz
hcichsten
undzwingt.Rosa,lila,gelbe,weisfe,
das fff
einesRiesenorchesters
klingen
lifdt
Lied
blaue,pistaziengriine,
flammenrote
Hiuser,Kirchen
fijedeeinselbstindiges
- derrasendgriine
oder
der
mit
brummenden
tausend
Rasen,dietiefer
Biume,
derkahlenAste,derrote,steife,
Stimmen
Schnee,odersasAllegretto
singende
alles iiberragend,
und dariiber,
wie ein
Ringder Kremlmauer
schweigsame
wie
sich
der
Halleluja weisfe,
vergessendes
lange,zierlich
Triumphgeschrei, ein
des
Iwan
Und
auf
seinem
ernsteStrich
hohen,
Weliky-Glockenturmes.
inewiger
Halsedergoldene
Sehnsucht
zumHimmelausgestreckten
gespannten
den goldenenundbuntenSternen
derandern
KopfderKuppel,die zwischen
Kuppelndie MoskauerSonneist.
DieseStundezu malen,dachteichmiralsdasunm6glichste
undh6chste
Gliick
einesKiinstlers.
("Riickblicke"
V-VI)
[ThesunmeltsallMoscowintoonespotwhich,likea madtuba,setsone'swhole
hour!It
inside,one'swholesoulvibrating.
No, thisredunityis nottheloveliest
is onlythefinalnoteofthesymphony
whichbringseverycolorto itsgreatest
a giant
whichlets,indeedforces,
all Moscowtoresoundlikethejffof
intensity,
orchestra.
flame-red
white,blue,pistachio
houses,
Pink,lavender,
yellow,
green,
- eachan independent
churches
song- theraving
greengrass,thedeepmurof
witha thousand
voices,or theallegretto
trees,or thesnow,singing
muring
thebarebranches,
thered,stiff,
silentringoftheKremlin
and
towwalls, above,
likea Hallelujahforgetful
ofitself,
thelong
eringoverall likea cryoftriumph,
earnest
line
of
the
Ivan
Bell
Tower.
And
its
white,delicately
Veliky
upon neck,
stretched
totheheavens,
thegoldenheadofthe
highandtautineternal
longing
cupola,whichis theMoscowsunamidthegoldenandcoloredstarsoftheother
cupolas.
To paintthishour,I thought,
andthegreatest
wouldbe themostimpossible
joy
of an artist.(Herbert23)]1o
22
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* SPRING
2004
Kandinskymadepossiblepaintingsuchan hourbyhis techniqueof highlyabitscolorsandshapes.

theintensity
ofthedaythrough
thescenetoexpress
stracting
and
Suchpoeticexpressions
Rilke,
Kandinsky
relyon
byBaudelaire,
Apollinaire,
on
effect
elementsand theirredemptive
thatemphasizesartistic
strongimagery
one's innerself,an effectthat"das ganzeInnere,die ganzeSeele in Vibration
and leadsto "ein
versetzt"
["setsone'swholeinside,one'swholesoul vibrating"]
likea
of
sich
wie
Halleluja"["a cry triumph,
vergessendes
Trimphgeschrei, ein
ofitself"].
Hallelujahforgetful
have
symbols,
manyartists
through
Througha typeof"seeing"thattheyexpress
- and thusthequasi-religious
as visionaries
significance
gainedtherecognition
oftheirart- and oftenfrompoet-artcriticswho also havethevisionary
ability
ofa painting
to decipherthesecodes,evenif,likeRilke,theyhadtostandin front
fortwohoursto develop"therighteyes."A truechampionofinnovative
artists,
wrote
the
critic
and
art
collector
Gertrude
Stein
(1874-1946),
following,
poet-art
in heruniquepoeticstyle,aboutthevisionary
qualitiesofCubistartists:
anditisvery
isnotthesameasthenineteenth
So thetwentieth
century
century
earth
from
an
that
that
Picasso
has
never
seen
the
airplane,
knowing
interesting
he
knew
that
the
earth
is
not
the
same
of
the
twentieth
centuryinevitably
being
heknew
hemadeitdifferasinthenineteenth
it,hemadeit,inevitably
century,
cansee.WhenI wasin
thatnowalltheworld
entandwhathemadeisa thing
and
I forthefirst
timetravelled
muchallthetimeinanairplane
America
pretty
I sawallthelinesofcubism
attheearth
madeata time
whennot
whenI looked
I sawthere
ontheearth
theminhadevergoneupinanairplane.
anypainter
of
and
and
lines
themselves,
Picasso,
developing destroying
coming going,
gling
I sawthewandering
I sawthesimple
ofBraque,
linesofMasson,
solutions
yesI
I
knew
that
a
creator
is
he
understands
what
sawandoncemore
contemporary,
donotyetknowit....(Stein
whenthecontemporaries
iscontemporary
49-50).
Steinwritesofa sceneabovetheworld"seen"byan artistwho had neverflown.
had "cometo theedgeoftheworld"and climbedabove.
Suchartists
A centurybeforethisclimb,whenhumanityhad come to the "edgeof the
executedrepresentational
world"and faceda modernage thatleftbehindtightly
faithand soul-beliefs,
modernage
imagesthatforthousandsof yearssignified
werestatingon canvasthatreligious
ideaswerenotlost.Rather,theywere
artists
to be foundin theelementsofourlives,as in theelementsofart,the"color"and
and feeling
couldhappen,through
recognizing
"shape"ofourlives.Redemption
thejoyofthecoloroftheyellowpulsingsunshineortheredblazingsunsetorthe
ofyellowpulsingin circlesor
curvesof a river- or,specifically,
bluevibrating
in curves.Whetheritbe in thebeautyofa
redblazingin archesor bluevibrating
SPRING
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* ROCKY
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23
Mary Dezember
huesoroftherichness
ofpeoplemovingwithreverence
oftheir
dayofinteracting
livesin blue,orjustshapesandcolorthatdisplayharmony,
theabstract
emotions
offaith- redemption,
salvation
were
emitted
the
abstracted
grace,
through
as "mystics
ofart,"sawthisand feltthisleapoffaithinto,
critics,
image.Poet-art
and above,a newworld,articulating
it forothers,so they,too,couldexperience
thepleasureof thesemovingsensationsand theirtransforming
in this
intensity
+
seemingly
godlessage.
Notes
I thankthefollowing
research
forhelpingme to obtainand to identify
professionals
someoftheoriginalsourcepassagesin thispaper:Jeffrey
C. Graf,Reference
DepartMain Library;
Sandra
ment,IndianaUniversity
Licata,andThomas
JoanShedivy,
ofMiningand Technology
Irion,New MexicoInstitute
JosephR. SkeenLibrary;
RafaelLara-Martfnez
and Lois Phillips,New MexicoInstitute
ofMiningand Technolof
Humanities.
ogyDepartment
is writing
aboutPicasso.
1 Apollinaire
The titlephrase,"Redemptive
1989
Power,"in partis takenfromDavid Freedberg's
and Theory
His
sentence
work,ThePoweroflmages:Studiesin theHistory
ofResponse.
reads:"Perhapswe mustadmitthatit is in thistranscendence
ofdeathwroughtbythe
formthatshouldnothavebeencapableofbeingmadebyhumanhand,thatshouldnot
be madebyit- thatit is in thisthattheredemptive
powerofimageslies"(440).
concerns
the
of
study
Freedberg's
power representational
images,imagesthatrepresent
a personor an object.My study,however,
theorizes
thepowerofabstracted
and non"from
the
can
whole,"
representational
images."Abstracted,"
applyto the
meaning
of
created
with
a
of
in
an
depiction images
representation object mind,rangingfrom
but
not
executed
fromthe
recognizable
tightly
imagesto imagesso highlyabstracted
wholethattheyareno longerapparent.Non-representational
refers
to no objectbeing
also called"pure
apparentor evenin themindoftheartistduringcreation,sometimes
or "completeabstraction."
abstraction"
Whilethesetermsareoftenusedsynonymously,
to itsparts
pureor completeabstraction
impliesthatan objecthas beenabstracted
whilenon-representational
refers
to no existenceofa representational
objectthatis
abstracted
into
or
the
elements
themselves
aretherepresenbeing
parts elements;thus,
tation.However,thesedistinctions
arenotexclusive,
as we cannotknowwhatwas in
themindoftheartistduringcreation,unlesstheartisthas documentedthoseideas.
Thus,whileto theviewerno concreteor representational
imageat all maybe apparent,
theartistmayhavehandone in mindand abstracted
it so fullythatonlytheelements
remain.Or,theartistmayhavewantedto merelypaintcolorsand shapes.
Concerningtheuse oftheterm"modernart"in thisstudy:whileDelacroixis not
considereda modernartistaccordingto thecategories
ofarthistory,
thisstudyincludes
himas one oftheoriginators,
his
of
the
movement
towardmodern
through technique,
24 +
ROCKY
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SPRING
2004
art.In addition,Baudelairereferred
to Romanticism
as modernart,a distinction
to thisstudy.
important
2 This studyis concerned
withWesternimages,art,and history.
Thus,due to the
on theGod-imageofWesternart,theterm"GodimpactofChristianity
integral
to Christianimages.However,it is certainly
notmy
image,"in thisstudy,refers
intentionto implythatthetermGod-imagerefers
to thoseimagesofa deity
exclusively
createdin thecontextofChristianity.
3I use theterms"color"and "shape"to describehowimagesarecreatedand what

theviewerseeswhenimagesareabstracted.
Otherwriters
to whatI call
mayrefer
"shape"as "line,"suchas thediscussionbyAurier.However,I findtheword"shape"to
be moredescriptive
ofhow abstracted
imagesappearto theviewerofart.In addition,
theuse oftheword"line"fortheshapeofobjectsor abstracted
objectswouldbecome
in thisstudy,as "line"refers
moreto "outline"or "drawing,"
whichhas a
confusing
specificand significant
meaningthatopposestheovertuse ofcolorand shape.
SI haveorderedthediscussionofpoet-art
criticschronologically
accordingto their
artcriticalpoeticexcerpts,
notbytheartistbeingdiscussedin theirwritings.
Thus,
Rilke'sdiscussionofvan GoghcomesafterApollinaire's
writingon Picasso.However,
van Goghwas stillbeingdiscovered
or understoodin ways,suchas forhisabstracted
technique,intotheearlytwentieth-century.
to thetranslator's
butI am referring
choiceofthe
5 This wordis actually"bloody,"
word"blood"forthispassage.
6
Baudelairewas nottheonlyartcriticwho supportedDelacroix,a factthathe

in his Salonof1846. Baudelairequoteda largepassagewritten
in 1822
acknowledged
bycriticAdolpheThiersthathardilypraisesDelacroix'sTheBarqueofDante,1922 titledin French,Le Dante etVirgile
aux Enfers[Danteand Virgilin Hell] - and
commendedThiersforhisboldnessin supporting
Delacroix.Baudelairerecordsthat
Thiershad written
thefollowing
aboutDelacroixand TheBarqueofDante:
Aucuntableaune rdv'lemieux,a mon avis,l'avenird'un grand
le Dante etVirgile
peintre,que celuide M. Delacroix,representant
aux enfers.
C'est I " surtoutqu'on peutremarquer
ce jet de talent,
cetelan de la supdriorit'
naissantequi ranimeles espirancesun peu
parle meritetropmoderdde toutle reste....auquel des
decouragdes
de manquer
jugessiveres,maispeuavisisici,pourraient
reprocher
de noblesse.Le pinceauestlargeet ferme,
la couleursimpleet
quoique un peu crue....
vigoureuse,
les groupeet les pliea volonteavecla hardiesse
Il jetteses figures,
de Michel-Ange
et la faconditede Rubens.Jene saisquel souvenir
des grandsartistes
me saisita l'aspectde ce tableau;je retrouve
cette
mais
cede
sans
effort
a
son
naturelle,
puissancesauvage,ardente,
qui
propreentrainement....
SPRING
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* ROCKY
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25
Mary Dezember
(qtd. in Baudelaire,Salonde 1846 885-886)

offuture
[In myopinionno pictureis a clearerrevelation
thanM. Delacroix'sLe Dante etVirgile
aux Enfers.
Here
greatness
aboveall youcan recognizethespurtoftalent,thatburstof
whichrevivesourhopes,alreadya trifle
dashedby
dawningmastery
thetoo moderateworthofall therest....sternjudges- in thiscase
- mightperhapscriticizeit fora lackofnobility.
ill-advised
It is
paintedwitha broad,firm,brush,and itscolouris simpleand
raw....
vigorous,ifa trifle
He throwshis figures
on to thecanvas,he groupsand bends
themat will,withtheboldnessofMichelangeloand theabundance
ofRubens.Some strangerecollection
ofthegreatmastersseized
hold ofme at thesightofthispicture;once moreI foundthat
to
power- wild,ardent,butnatural- whichyieldswithouteffort
itsownimpulse....(Mayne52-53)]
7 By 1857, Delacroixreceived
acceptancebytheAcademy,
thirty-five
yearsafterhe
showedhisfirst
painting,and sixyearsbeforehisdeath.LorenzEitnerwrites:"The
UniversalExpositionin 1855 showedthirty-six
ofhispaintings,
a tributeto him
withIngres)as one ofFrance'stwopreeminent
(together
livingartists.Havinglong
beendeniedadmissionto theAcademy,
ofwhichhe privately
tooka coollyrealistic
in 1857" (220).
mediocrities
view,he was at lastadmittedto thisbodyofdistinguished
Some ofApollinaire's
as he arrangedthewordson a
poetrywas visuallyexpressive,
to
create
the
of
the
poems'subjects,as can be seenin hisbookofpoems,
page
image
Forexample,hispoem "La Mandolinel'CEilletet le Bambou"["MandoCalligrammes.
in style,subject
112; Greet113) correlates
lin,Carnationand Bamboo"](Calligrammes
and timeofcreationwithsomeofthesynthetic
cubistworksofPicassoand Braque.
8
reviewwas actually"Accompanied
LeroyC. BreunigstatesthatApollinaire's
by
of
five
the
Womanwitha Crow,The
reproductions
paintings,
including masterpieces
TwoFriends,
and TwoSaltimbanques
witha Dog" (Breunigxxii).
of"Reminiscences"
was done byhis
10 RobertL. Herbertstatesthatthistranslation
wife(iii).
Works Cited
TheLatin Texts
Alberti,Leon Battista.On Paintingand On Sculpture,
ofDe Picturaand
De Statua.(1435; 1466?)Ed. and trans.Cecil Grayson.London:Phaidon,1972.
Guillaume.Chroniques
Apollinaire,
d'art:1902-1918.Ed. L.-C. Breunig.Editions
Gallimard,1960.
26 +
ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
REVIEW
+ SPRING
2004
PoemsofPeaceand War
-. "La Mandolinel'(Eilletet le Bambou."Calligrammes:
ofCalifornia
(1913-1916). Trans.AnneHyde Greet.1980. Berkeley:
University
Press,1991. 112.
de France.Paris#22(October1891):
Aurier,G.-Albert."Henryde Groux."Mercure
223-229.
de France.Paris#36
PourUn Livrede Critiqued'Art(I)." Mercure
-. "Prdface:
(December1892): 309-332.
Universelle
de 1855. OeuvresCompltes.U.R.S.S.:
Baudelaire,Charles.Exposition
EditionsGallimard,1961. 951-974.
-.
A Dual LanguageBook.Ed. and trans.Wallace

FlowersofEviland OtherWorks:
Fowlie.New York:Dover,1964.
-.
Salonde 1845. OeuvresComplktes.

U.R.S.S.: EditionsGallimard,1961. 813-866.
-.
Salonde 1846. OeuvresComplktes.

U.R.S.S.: EditionsGallimard,1961. 874-952.
onArt:Essaysand Reviews1902-1918.
Breunig,LeroyC., ed. Introduction.
Apollinaire
Trans.SusanSuleiman.New York:The VikingPress,
By GuillaumeApollinaire.
1960.
Cellini,Benvenuto.TheAutobiography
Cellini.Trans.JohnAddington
ofBenvenuto
Symonds.GardenCity,NY: Doubleday,1948.
From"Essayon a New Methodof
Chipp,HerschelB., trans.,withH. R. Rookmaaker.
Criticism."ByG.-Albert
Art:A SourceBookbyArtists
Aurier.Theories
and
ofModern
ofCaliforniaPress,1968. 87-89.
Critics.Berkeley:
University
Delacroix,Eugene."Des Critiquesen Matiered'Arts."RevueDe Paris.Tome Second.
Paris:Au Bureaude la Revuede Paris(May 1829): 168-174.
PartI: Before
Eitner,Lorenz.FrenchPaintings
Century,
oftheNineteenth
Impressionism.
2000.
New York:OxfordUniversity
Press,
A Dual LanguageBook.
Fowlie,Wallace,ed. and trans.FlowersofEviland OtherWorks:
Charles
New
York:
Baudelaire.
1964.
Dover,
By
David. ThePowerofImages:Studiesin theHistory
and Theory
Freedberg,
ofResponse.
of
1989.
Press,
Chicago:University Chicago
TheLatinTexts
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ofDe
Picturaand De Statua.ByLeon BattistaAlberti.London:Phaidon,1972.
"The CezanneInscape."By Rainer
Greene,JaneBannard,trans.and introduction.
Rilke.
on
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Ed.
Daniel
Maria
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Poemsof
Greet,AnneHyde,trans."MandolinCarnationand Bamboo."Calligrammes:
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University
ofCaliforniaPress,1991. 113.
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ModernArtists
On Art:TenUnabridged
Kandinsky.
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-.
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-. Briefe(OberCezanne:Herausgegeben
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1952.
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theSpiritualinArt.ByWassilyKandinsky.
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SPRING
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+ ROCKY
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Poets as Modern Art Critics: Stating the "Redemptive Power" of the Abstracted Image

Author(s): Mary Dezember

Si nous savions, tous les dieux s'dveilleraient.

picturapoesis- as is paintingso is poetry- which thewriterson artexpected

Poets as Modern Art Critics

Poets as Modern Art Critics

paintinghas representedthe gods theyworship,forpaintinghas contributed

to thepietywhichbindsus to thegods,and to filling

Poets as Modern Art Critics

Poets as Modern Art Critics

Poets as Modern Art Critics

II fautvois s'ouvriralors l'arsenaldes autorites,et se d6ployerla serieimposante

ci combat pour le contouret vous terrasseavec la ligne de beaut : ils discutent

figurecomme une camisole de force;que le dessin doit trecomme la nature,

whenPablo Picassoappearedon theartscene,the

Poets as Modern Art Critics

Poets as Modern Art Critics

Poets as Modern Art Critics

Kandinskymadepossiblepaintingsuchan hourbyhis techniqueof highlyabitscolorsandshapes.

Poets as Modern Art Critics

3I use theterms"color"and "shape"to describehowimagesarecreatedand what

Baudelairewas nottheonlyartcriticwho supportedDelacroix,a factthathe

(qtd. in Baudelaire,Salonde 1846 885-886)

Poets as Modern Art Critics

A Dual LanguageBook.Ed. and trans.Wallace

Salonde 1845. OeuvresComplktes.

Salonde 1846. OeuvresComplktes.

Poets as Modern Art Critics

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