Ilse’s Reviews > Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art > Status Update

Ah, the elusive art commentary… That last line, perfect.

I agree with Braque and tend to wander away from any friends or acquaintances with whom I enter galleries so that I may enjoy ,the art in silence. Also, I am also taken back to my first visit to an art gallery, at age eleven (some sixty-five years ago, which was to see an exhibit of works by Van Gogh. I recall being overwhelmed. My only response to the artwork was to burst into tears. I still own the little pamphlet I was given that day. (I don’t believe that detracts from my enjoyment.) Thanks for sharing the quote Ilse.

This is the book that made me realize a while back I enjoyed Barnes better for his essays than his fiction, though technically, I like both. Why was I under the impression you'd read this one already, though? You will love this collection, it has your name all over it, and I'm excited to discover what will win your heart in there. This book is a gem.

David wrote: "Ah, the elusive art commentary… That last line, perfect."
It made me smile, David - the irony of Barnes, as this entire collection enables him to chat a lot about works of art :D

Ah, isn't that very apropos of what we were talking about yesterday re Twain's experience of the Mississippi, Ilse. That knowledge/over interpretation can take the pleasure out of the view!

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️

It is a rare picture which stuns,or argues, us into silence.

Is there such a painting for you, Ilse?

Thanks for such a thought-provoking comment Ilse! I wanted to build on what you and Barnes and Fionnuala and Twain said. It seems that we are frequently translating one art form into another rather than explaining one in terms of another. The essay of art criticism (if done well) is its own art work of a very different kind; Barnes’ essays are certainly a new art work stimulated by painting; Mark Twain has managed to create a literary art work from his experience of the Mississippi, even if he can no longer appreciate the river as he once did; Maybe even our own reviews of books (if done well) are a new (small/minor) literary work of a different sort. And I think my experience of an art work is often enhanced by a complementary art work of a different kind - a piece of music or a painting can enhance my experience of a book for instance, and I am always on the search for films and books that are complementary in this way - both together are better than either on its own. Oh and one other idea just occurred: teaching in the arts always involves explaining the art form in words as a kind of a scaffold for the student. You can’t teach painting by just pointing at paintings.

R-K wrote: "I agree with Braque and tend to wander away from any friends or acquaintances with whom I enter galleries so that I may enjoy ,the art in silence. Also, I am also taken back to my first visit to at age eleven (some sixty-five years ago, which was to see an exhibit of works by Van Gogh. I recall being overwhelmed. My only response to the artwork was to burst into tears. "
What a powerful response to Van Gogh, R-K - and that on a moment you were still a child... With your memory and the pamphlet that you still keep, you rekindled a memory on visiting the Van Gogh museum aons ago, that I had forgotten - and a poster with a drawing, 'Sorrow', that came with that visit - a drawing I find heartbreaking. On silence when looking at art, I am in two minds: as a taciturn person myself, I tend to stay silent, but I also enjoy looking at art together with a more knowledgeable companion, often grateful for words that help me to understand or appreciate what I see. On the other hand, I shun audio guides, they feel too coercitive, and I've recently visited some museums entirely in silence - on my own - and enjoyed the silence, too...Some museums work on soundscapes to accompany your visit, likely I would do without. Do you manage to concentrate purely on the art, or are also tempted to read whatever explanation comes with the painting?

That quote is so true. Some of the Richer paintings currently on display in Paris came close to stunning me into silence nevertheless. Then again, as soon aa I came out of the exhibit, I went looking for books by Georges Didi-Huberman on the pictures Richter based himself on. It seems I too needed words to explain, frame and tame things. Have a lovely afternoon Ilse.

Charles wrote: "This is the book that made me realize a while back I enjoyed Barnes better for his essays than his fiction, though technically, I like both. Why was I under the impression you'd read this one already."
Charles, like you, I warm more to Julian Barnes' non-fiction than to his novels, even if I like his novels well enough - his essays are a treat, the writing, the phrasing of his ideas, whether I agree or not, he makes me think and wonder and although it might not mean much coming from someone for whom English is not the native language, I bask in the beauty of his writing and rich vocabulary, so I look up every unfamiliar word in the dictionary not to miss any nuance in his sentences 🙂. This one had been on my reading pile for a long time, but because I might soon see some paintings of some of the French artists he covers here in the real, I was eager to pick it up at this precise moment. Just like with his essays on writers in 'Through the window', I enjoy the essays of artists he clearly prefers to others the most, maybe because I share some of those preferences 🙂 (Delacroix, Cezanne). hHe writes so well from the point of view of the admirer (like on Wharton, or Penelope Fitzgerald). 

I'm feeling bashful reading this as I've just been posting about reading "What Great Paintings Say" lol. I suppose I enjoy both being stunned into silence, needing no information or contextualization, and also looking at art _as a historian_, although I understand those as difficult activities/approaches.

beautiful quote, can be approached from very different sides.

and a nice memory of R-K!
about that a minor detail:
if R-K's visit was 65 years ago, it could have been the Stedelijk Museum (municipal museum). That is next to the Van Gogh Museum, which opened in 1973. Before 1973 the Van Gogh collection was kept and showed in the Stedelijk.

I just (an hour ago) went past both museums, after having attented my weekly concert in the Concertgebouw (opera Olympiade by Cimarosa).
So first I went past the bath tub (new extention of SM), than past the oister (new extention of VG).