The Lovers’ Chronicle 16 July – impression – art by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

16 July 2023 By Rhett 0 In Random

Dear Zazie, Here is Mac Tag‘s Lovers’ Chronicle to his muse. Follow us on twitter @cowboycoleridge. Rhett

The Lovers’ Chronicle

Dear Muse,

a tremblin’ woman’s falsetto,

comes out of the silence

it produces

in my half

awakened brain,

impressions of you

it is an affirmation

to seek the origins

and inspirations

behind what drives

two to become one

a firm resolution,

and independent nature,

hold fast to this need

learned from experience

to begin by drawin’ on

a virgin canvas, knowin’

the desired effect, then,

as immediately finished

as one can, so that when

it has all been covered

there is little to retouch

wherever these dreams

and memories of you take me,

this is how they shall be taken

“Are you ok?”
never otherwise…

not only the arid air,
the wide open spaces,
and of course, the light,
seized the attention
another entrancement
began that day

their hair, their skin,
their eyes, their hands
surpass all others

despite this strong attraction,
there can be but one purpose
to pursue relentlessly…
to seek the origins
and inspirations
behind what drives
two to become one

a firm resolution,
and independent nature,
holds fast to this one need

a tremblin’ woman’s falsetto,
comes out of the silence
it always produces
in my half-awakened brain,
an impression of you

Today is the birthday of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (Paris; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875 Paris); landscape and portrait painter. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast output simultaneously references the Neo-Classical tradition and anticipates the plein-air innovations of Impressionism.

With his parents’ support, Corot followed the well-established pattern of French painters who went to Italy to study the masters of the Italian Renaissance and to draw the crumbling monuments of Roman antiquity. It was not only Italian architecture and light which captured Corot’s attention. The late-blooming Corot was entranced with Italian females as well: “They still have the most beautiful women in the world that I have met….their eyes, their shoulders, their hands are spectacular. In that, they surpass our women, but on the other hand, they are not their equals in grace and kindness…Myself, as a painter I prefer the Italian woman, but I lean toward the French woman when it comes to emotion.” In spite of his strong attraction to women, he wrote of his commitment to painting: “I have only one goal in life that I want to pursue faithfully: to make landscapes. This firm resolution keeps me from a serious attachment. That is to say, in marriage…but my independent nature and my great need for serious study make me take the matter lightly.”