Here are a couple of images I came across when I googled "The Oval Portrait:"
static.flickr.com/52/http://www.amazon.com/Edgar-Allan-Poes-Oval-Portrait/dp/0966026616
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
"The Oval Portrait" & The Nature of the Artist
Reading "The Oval Portrait" made me think that Poe is doing something with the nature of the artist. Although I'm not such a big fan of the "suffering artist" narrative, I like how Poe has made the subject of the art suffer, rather than the artist. I guess you could argue that the artist suffered too since he was so obsessed with his work, that he didn't notice that his subject had died. Not only did he not notice, but "he would not see that the light which fell so ghastlily in that lone turret withered the health and the spirits of his bride..." (483). It's not as though he couldn't see, but he chose not to. I guess what I'm getting at is: Does Poe want to say that artists are selfish and obsessed people that get so wrapped up in their work, they choose to ignore everything around them? Also, the artist "already [had] a bride in his Art..." and his wife hated "only the Art which was her rival..." (483), so was their relationship never possible because the artist was and will always be tied to his art? I also wonder what we are to make of the woman since she hated his art, but she stayed with him anyway, even though she became the subject of his art. Maybe she thought since she became the subject, somehow he would see past his art and see her.
Here are a couple of images I came across when I googled "The Oval Portrait:"
static.flickr.com/52/109300294_cb0fd6a717_o.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Edgar-Allan-Poes-Oval-Portrait/dp/0966026616
Here are a couple of images I came across when I googled "The Oval Portrait:"
static.flickr.com/52/http://www.amazon.com/Edgar-Allan-Poes-Oval-Portrait/dp/0966026616
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3 comments:
I saw a couple of different themes in this story-
- Poe's obsession with the death of a beautiful woman: both the artist and the narrator are mesmorized by this picture of a woman who is obviously suffering.
- in creation, there is death: if the artist had never painted the portrait, she would not have died.
- maybe Poe is also saying that art can be an addition?
I like the idea that artists are so engulfed in their own work that they loose track of their surrounding and life itself. But I don't think they ignore everything around them. Instead, I think Poe was trying to express an artists over satisfaction with the art they produce. In a sense, an artist is selfish, but more appropriately, I think Poe wanted to view this artist and possibly all artists as egocentric. The art that they produce gives them a satisfaction that the real objects can not.
I definitely agree with Jennifer that Poe was obsessed with the death of a beautiful woman. This relates to my previous statement. The artist wants complete control and becomes a sort of god figure over this woman. Her suffering is a form of gratification for the artist because he is the ultimate motive. I guess you could even go beyond that and say that the motive is even the woman's lust and/or fascination for the artist.
When the artist comments "This is indeed Life itself!"(484) I think that Poe is elaborating on the notion of control that is possessed by the artist. The artist has produced life, with the realistic consequences of a true beauties death, which was never a concern for the artist.
I really like your last comment David. It really hits home with a theme that I think Poe tries to portray and you sum it up nicely.
As for the pictures that are on the original blog, I think it is weird that these pictures are so morbid looking when the story describes how beautiful this woman was. It is like the pictures are tyring to portray the dead woman instead of the actual girl. However, since the woman was dying as he painted maybe that is what the portrait really looked like.
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