Sunday, May 11, 2014

"Seraphine"


Seraphine 

Heavenward from Picardy might take a lifetime
of prayer and paint, of paradise inspired
by voices in the night.

At the feet of Mary, ever-virgin, beneath windows
stain-glassed, she envisioned canvases of splendor,
jewels of fruit, suns likened to God.

When did tentacles and eyes overtake
the tree of life?  When did the Good Lord's Garden
echo with discordant voices?

When did the orphan child stop singing?

by Margaret Bednar, May 11, 2014


This is linked with "Imaginary Garden of Real Toads - Seraphine Louis" - hosted by Fireblossom who did a great job reviewing this artist.   I need to learn to read the "directions" before I go off and take on a challenge - I hope this roughly fits in the "write about the thin line between genius and madness".

Another excellent review of the artist, Seraphine Louis, is HERE.  The movie, "Seraphine" can be found on Netflix.  A French film with English captions.  (NOTE:  I did watch this movies with my oldest daughter who is an artist and we loved it.  It is slow-moving… my husband thanked his lucky stars several times he wasn't forced to watch it)

14 comments:

Kerry O'Connor said...

I think your poem tackles the idea of the thing line between genius and madness very well. The questions asked in stanza 3 are especially poignant. Your poetic voice is very compassionate.

Fireblossom said...

I agree with Kerry. I wondered, as well, at what point her painting started to get a little disturbing. As I said in my comment on Mama Zen's, her art reminds me of the cat artist Louis Wain, whose feline portraits changed from sweet to unidentifiable and bizarre, as his illness deepened. Seraphine's don't show such a dramatic change, but it is there nonetheless.

I'm so glad you decided to write for this challenge!

Sumana Roy said...

"jewels of fruit, suns likened to God"...the line describes her wealth
expressed in lines and colors...a wonderful tribute to the artist and her art..

Helen said...

Love the collage of her art, looking like a beautiful piece of stained glass! Also enjoyed your poem .. she was amazing, wasn't she?

rallentanda said...

Ones persons madness is anothers genius. The white coat gets to decide.I wonder how many languished in asylums because they did not fit the shrink's text book.

Anonymous said...

This is a beautiful tribute.

Lisa Gordon said...

I think your poem does a fine job of it, Margaret.
I watched the trailer. Definitely a movie I would like to see.

Lisa Gordon said...

And although I am a bit late here, Happy Mother's Day to you!!! I so enjoyed seeing the cards from your kids on IG.

Anonymous said...

hey Margaret, somehow your comments landed in spam - sorry - glad I unlocked them.

as Kerry said, you've found that line between genius and madness. I also wondered about that, the mixing and skin. and your close - it's a great question ~

Anonymous said...

i think you got the prompt perfectly, Margaret. i, on the other hand, thought i could just use a painting as inspiration for anything. i didn't tie it in to Seraphine like everyone else seems to have. love your poem!

Anonymous said...

Hey Margaret--I realized one of your comments got put to spam--

this is a very interesting poem, in that it doesn't seem only particular to this painter, but to be about a broader subject--it works very well and has especially lovely sound.

I love the header of your son, by the way--beautiful photo. k.

Anonymous said...

Hey Margaret--I realized one of your comments got put to spam--

this is a very interesting poem, in that it doesn't seem only particular to this painter, but to be about a broader subject--it works very well and has especially lovely sound.

I love the header of your son, by the way--beautiful photo. k.

G-Man said...

One of the many things that I love about you Margaret Bednar is your genius in being concise...
You always pack a whollop without being wordy. LOVE your new avatar pic BTW...WOW!!!!

Ginnie Hart said...

WOW. Thanks for the recommendation, Margaret. It looks like a movie right up my alley (but maybe not Astrid's, though she's learning to enjoy what moves me).