The Lovers’ Chronicle 6 April – memories – Petrarch & Laura – art by Gustave Moreau, Arthur Wesley Dow, & Jeanne Hébuterne

06 April 2024 By Rhett 0 In Random

Dear Zazie,

Here is today’s Lovers’ Chronicle from Mac Tag.

Rhett

The Lovers’ Chronicle

Dear Muse,

no not from Streisand
and it is not the way
we were but rather
the way we are
“That’s right baby”
today is the day Haggard died
and i wrote song lyrics in 2013
inspired by his music
“A rich mine for you”
indeed, one of my favorite moments on our trip
to Nashville was goin’ to Layla’s and them playin’
Hag’s songs between bands
“Speaking of favorite moments”
we seem to be wrackin’ up
some wonderful memories
“Like right now”

the only rear view gazin’
goin’ on now is to give
thanks for the twists
and turns in the trail
for had they not been
we would not be here

indeed appears

that the verse
has been pointin’
in this direction

a certain wish
bein’ fulfilled
pourin’ memories
of together

always one for

rear view gazin’…

personally,

misery and gin

mixed quite well

for me

and there were days

where i often thought,

oh hell, i will just stay

here and drink

but it appears

that the verse

has been pointin’

in this direction

a certain wish

bein’ fulfilled

a different view

of the rear view…

comes down to choices

pickup a pen

and let the words out

courtin’ forgiveness,

but not settlin’,

settin’ grievin’ aside,

cowboy up,

pourin’ memories

of this creation

no longer strugglin’

do memories

come true

and faith in this

Pale Love, Pale Rider

back to the rear view again…

comes down to choices
tried sleep but ain’t no use
booze cannot quiet regret

pickup a pen
and let the words out

demand so
descend
memories
were that i were able
to allow forgiveness
to settle in

but cannot or will not
does not matter
grievin’ insists,
so cowboy up,
pourin’ memories
and whiskey

learned well
how not to forgive
and not to forget
how to move
on down the line
from one heart
to the next

of course,
that only mixes well
with memories
and whiskey

seekin’ shelter
doin’ right
doin’ wrong
not carin’
carin’
holdin’ on

keep pourin’
these words and mixin’
and stirrin’ regret
and orderin’ up more
memories and whiskey

gazin’ in the rear view again
stirin’ and pourin’

struggled constantly
with a consumin’ desire
for hell if i knew what
well, at the time
it was known

s’pose the struggle
would still be goin’ on
had not the flames
finally cooled

a certain wish
that i could say
i am entirely free
from all of that
but that would be a lie
because i cannot
forget

Lyrics inspired by the incomparable music of Merle Haggard, who was born and died on this day, and the Dark Muse. Tonight I am mixin’……

Memories and Whiskey

Comes down to a matter of choice

Tried to sleep but it ain’t no use
Booze cannot quiet regret
Grabbed my pen and these words came out…

Dark Muse demands so
Descend swiftly
Swarmin’ memories
Were that I were able
To allow forgiveness
To settle in

But cannot or will not
Does not matter
Grievin’ insists,
So cowboy up,
And keep on mixin’
Memories and whiskey

Seekin’ shelter
In the wrong places
Holdin’ what I’ve got,
Though it don’t mix well
Keep on pourin’
Memories and whiskey

Could start doin’ right
And quit doin’ wrong
But she don’t care
So it don’t matter
Keep on stirin’
Memories and whiskey

She taught me good
How not to forgive
And not to forget
So I’ll keep movin
On down the line
From one heart to the next

And I’ll keep pourin’
These words and mixin’
Misery with tears
And stirrin’ regret
And order up more
Memories and whiskey

The Songs of the Day are “Misery and Gin” and “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink” by Merle Haggard. We do not own the rights to these songs. All rights reserved by the rightful owner. No copyright infringement intended.

On this day in 1327, the poet Petrarch saw Laura for the first time. It was on Good Friday, in the church of Saint Claire in Avignon. Her identity has never been confirmed, but she was probably Laure de Noves, a noblewoman living in Avignon with her husband Hugues de Sade. Petrarch was 22 years old, and she was a teenager, maybe 17. He fell instantly in love. Of Laura he wrote:

“In my younger days, I struggled constantly with an overwhelming but pure love affair – my only one, and I would have struggled with it longer had not premature death, bitter but salutary for me, extinguished the cooling flames. I certainly wish I could say that I have always been entirely free from desires of the flesh, but I would be lying if I did.”

Today is the birthday of Gustave Moreau (Paris 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898 Paris); Symbolist painter whose main emphasis was the illustration of biblical and mythological figures. The female characters from the bible and mythology that he so frequently depicted came to be regarded by many as the archetypical symbolist woman. He appealed to the imaginations of some Symbolist writers and artists.

Gustave Moreau
Self-portrait of Gustave Moreau, 1850

Moreau never married and very little information is known about his personal and romantic relationships. In the past some biographers speculated that he was gay, largely inferred from the fact that he was a bachelor, a lack of information regarding women in his life, and the sometimes effeminate or androgynous appearance of male figures in some of his paintings. However, more recent research and documents revealed a relationship with Adelaide-Alexandrine Dureux (b. Guise, 8 November 1835 – d. Paris, March 1890) that lasted over 30 years. Moreau apparently met Alexandrine soon after his return from Italy and in following years he produced many drawings and watercolors of her, as well as romantic caricatures of the two of them walking on clouds together. He subsidized an apartment for her on Rue Norte-Dame de Lorette, just a few blocks from the townhome where he lived with his parents. Their relationship was very discreet and known by only a few in his closest circle. His mother was aware of their relationship and apparently fond of her, as indicated by a stipulation in her will that provided an annuity for Alexandrine should Gustave die before her. He designed her tombstone, engraved with their interlaced initials, A and G, which is located near his family plot where he was interned with his parents.

Gallery

Oedipus and the Sphinx (1864)
Jason and Medea (1865)
Orpheus (1865)
Venus Rising from the Sea (1866)
Europa and the Bull (1869)
La chimère (1876)
Salomé (1876)
The Apparition (1876)

Galatée (1880)
The Sacred Elephant (Péri) (1885)
Eve by Gustave Moreau (1885)
The Toilette (1885-90)
Hesiod and the Muse (1891)

Today is the birthday of Arthur Wesley Dow (April 6, 1857 – December 13, 1922); painter, printmaker, photographer and influential arts educator.

Dow died on December 13, 1922, in his home in New York City. He was interred in the Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was survived by his wife Eleanor Pearson, whom he married in 1893.

Gallery

Moonrise

Crater Lake, oil on canvas, 1919

View of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, 1919

Today is the birthday of Jeanne Hébuterne (Meaux 6 April 1898 – 25 January 1920 Paris); artist, best known as the frequent subject and common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani. She took her own life the day after Modigliani died, and is now buried beside him.

Jeanne Hébuterne was born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, the second child to Achille Casimir Hébuterne (born 1857), who worked at Le Bon Marché, a department store, and Eudoxie Anaïs Tellier Hébuterne (born 1860). The family was Roman Catholic.A beautiful girl, she was introduced to the artistic community in Montparnasse by her brother André Hébuterne, who wanted to become a painter. She met several of the then-starving artists and modeled for Tsuguharu Foujita.Wanting to pursue a career in the arts, and with a talent for drawing, she chose to study at the Académie Colarossi, where in the spring of 1917 Hébuterne was introduced to Modigliani by the sculptress Chana Orloff, who came with many other artists to take advantage of the Academy’s live models.Jeanne began an affair with the charismatic artist, and the two fell deeply in love. She soon moved in with him, despite strong objection from her parents.Described by the writer Charles-Albert Cingria [fr] (1883–1954) as gentle, shy, quiet, and delicate, Jeanne Hébuterne became a principal subject for Modigliani’s art.In the spring of 1918, the couple moved to the warmer climate of Nice on the French Riviera where Modigliani’s agent hoped he might raise his profile by selling some of his works to the wealthy art connoisseurs who wintered there. While they were in Nice, their daughter, Jeanne Modigliani, was born on 29 November.The following spring, they returned to Paris and Jeanne became pregnant again. By this time, Modigliani was suffering from tuberculous meningitis and his health, made worse by complications brought on by substance abuse, was deteriorating badly.On 24 January 1920 Modigliani died. Hébuterne’s family brought her to their home, but she threw herself out of the fifth-floor apartment window the day after Modigliani’s death, killing herself and her unborn child.Her family, who blamed her demise on Modigliani, interred her in the Cimetière de Bagneux. Nearly ten years later, at the request of Modigliani’s brother, Emanuele, the Hébuterne family agreed to have her remains transferred to Père Lachaise Cemetery to rest beside Modigliani.Her epitaph reads: “Devoted companion to the extreme sacrifice.”

Gallery