12 January 2013

"The Lady of Shalott" by William Holman Hunt


"I am half sick of shadows," said
            The Lady of Shalott. 
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I am glad it is December,
that the awful November
picture on my calendar has
flipped, that December's picture
is one I have seen in person.

Few calendar prints can capture
a painting, so while I am glad
the November goats are gone, I long
for the real thing whole
and complete and beautiful.

But this is a lie because
I love this smaller test
painting by the master's
own hand since he was
mostly blind by then and
couldn't paint the full
canvas himself.

I prefer this panel
because I remember
how the unraveling
threads in it sliced
through the picture, so
sharp the air between us
was nearly bleeding.

1 comment:

  1. Here's a picture of the painting, in case you're curious to see it. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Holman-Hunt%2C_William%2C_and_Hughes%2C_Edward_Robert_-_The_Lady_of_Shalott_-_1905.jpg

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