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Tag Archives: Claude Debussy

Odalisques & Arabesques

27 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, History Painting, Middle East, Orientalism

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Arabesques, calligraphy, Claude Debussy, Exoticism, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Madame Récamier, Odalisque, Orientalism, Stephen Malinowski

Ingres-the-turkish-bathj_pg_

The Turkish Bath, 1862, oil on canvas, diam. 108 cm, Louvre. A summation of the theme of female voluptuousness attractive to Ingres throughout his life, rendered in the circular format of earlier masters. (Caption credit: Wikipedia; Photo credit: Google images)

1024px-Jean_Auguste_Dominique_Ingres,_La_Grande_Odalisque,_1814

Grande Odalisque, 1814, oil on canvas, 91 x 162 cm, Louvre. The subject’s elongated proportions, reminiscent of 16th-century Mannerist painters, reflect Ingres’s search for the pure form of his model. (Photo and caption credit: Wikipedia)

Orientalisme

We have seen a few examples of Islamic art and Orientalisme. The paintings featured above are by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) and constitute examples of orientalisme and exoticism, paintings associated with the Orient, the Near East. Several Europeans had gone to the Crusades centuries earlier. Their destination was Jerusalem, the Holy Land. But 19th-century orientalisme is associated with Napoléon‘s military campaigns. Napoléon took his Armée d’Orient to Egypt and Syria. (See French Campaign in Egypt and Syria, Wikipedia.) Egyptology was born at that time. Deciphering the Rosetta Stone, found in 1799, was one of its first and chief achievements.

We looked at the art of Jean-Léon Gérôme who had travelled to Egypt and returned with a large supply of ‘images,’ sketches. He depicted scenes from ordinary activities, genre painting. Ingres, however, had not travelled to the orient, the Near East. His style was the same as Gérôme: academicism. Moreover, both artists specialized in historical painting. Several artists travelled to the Near East, but no Orientaliste ever entered a harem, un sérail, where women were guarded by castrated servants called eunuchs. Yet, Orientalists did paint the interior of harems and Turkish baths, favourite scenes.

“Some of the most popular Orientalist genre scenes—and the ones most influential in shaping Western aesthetics—depict harems. Probably denied entrance to authentic seraglios, male artists relied largely on hearsay and imagination, populating opulently decorated interiors with luxuriant odalisques, or female slaves or concubines (many with Western features), reclining in the nude or in Oriental dress. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867) never traveled to the East, but used the harem setting to conjure an erotic ideal in his voluptuous odalisques.”[1] (Orientalisme at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

Ingres’ Grande Odalisque shows an elongated female body. Painting elongated figures is a characteristic of 16th-century mannerism. However, Ingres’ odalisque is somewhat reminiscent of the curvy linear arabesque motifs of Islamic art. Yet, it isn’t busy. La Grande Odalisque has been an inspiration to several artists, one of whom is Matisse. It otherwise ressembles Jacques-Louis David‘s (30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) depiction of Madame Récamier, an unfinished but celebrated portrait. For information on this painting, see Madame Récamier, Louvre. You may also visit the Wikipedia site on Juliette Récamier.

1024px-Jean_Auguste_Dominique_Ingres,_La_Grande_Odalisque,_1814

David_Juliette-recamier-rmn

Madame Récamier by Jacques-Louis David, 1800 (Photo cedit: Wikipedia)


Juliette Récamier
 (4 December 1777 – 11 May 1849) was a salonnière who had married Jacques-Rose Récamier (1751 – 1830), a wealthy older man and banker, on 24 April 1793. The marriage was never consummated and rumour has it that he was her father. In 1805, Jacques-Rose sustained financial losses. (See Juliette Récamier, Wikipedia.) He and Juliette had a salon where they entertained distinguished guests, but she retired at l’Abbaye-aux-Bois. The salons survived the French Revolution. Juliette had befriended François-René de Chateaubriand  (4 September 1768 –4  July 1848), the author of Le Génie du Christianisme (1802), a literary monument that incorporated Atala and René, exotic novellas based on Chateaubriand’s stay in North America. He was an aristocrat and therefore fled France during part of the French Revolution. When Chateaubriand started to live as a recluse, Juliette Récamier was the only person he visited. He visited her every day. In David’s painting, she is leaning on a sofa now called a récamier, after her. By clicking on Madame Récamier, one can read what the Louvre has to say about this very famous painting.

800px-Turquoise_epigraphic_ornament_MBA_Lyon_A1969-333

Arabesque motif (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Arabesques

Orientalisme also includes Arabesques in music.

Arabesques, Turkish music, are composed in the Phrygian mode. This form of music was used by Claude Debussy and other composers. It was orientalisme, “in the manner of,” rather than Turkish music. I have inserted two pieces by Debussy.

There are several orientaliste painters. You will find names: Eugène Delacroix, Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, Jean-Léon Gérôme, William Holman Hunt, etc. at Orientalisme, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA), in New York. Our black bashi-basouk, an irregular soldier, or mercenary (a hired soldier), is housed at the MMA, in New York.

Let me conclude by recommending you read Orientalisme and Madame Récamier.  At this point, my continuing to write about this topic would be repetitious and not as and complete and concise as the documents I have referred to. I will note, however, that interest in the Orient takes us back to Marco Polo and the above-mentioned Crusades. Moreover, Islamic art includes elegant calligraphy, Islamic calligraphy, and illuminated manuscripts.

Love to every one. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Chateaubriand’s Atala (24 April 2014)
  • On Madame de Staël (12 March 2014)
  • The Nineteenth Century in France (5 March 2014)
  • Salons and Cafés survive “la terreur” (19 February 2014)

Sources and Resources

  • Souvenirs et correspondance tirées des papiers de Madame Récamier is a Gutenberg publication [EBook #25403]
  • Various items at Internet Archive
  • Orientalisme at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Madame Récamier at the Louvre
  • The Zykes-Picot Agreement

____________________

[1] Meagher, Jennifer. “Orientalism in Nineteenth-Century Art.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/euor/hd_euor.htm (October 2004)

—000—

Claude Debussy
Arabesque Nos 1 & 2
Stephen Malinowski (piano and animation)

Ingres-the-turkish-bathj_pg_

mainimage-new

Calligraphy (Christie’s)

 

© Micheline Walker
27 August 2016
WordPress

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Sappho, Louÿs, Barbier, Debussy & “Les Chansons de Bilitis”

04 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Literature, Music

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Bilitis, Claude Debussy, Debussy, Domaine Musical, Pierre Boulez, Pierre Louÿs, Rueil-Malmaison, Songs of Bilitis

Pierre Louÿs, by Henri Bataille*

*Félix-Henri Bataille (b. 4 April 1872 in Nîmes, France, d. 2 March 1922 in Rueil-Malmaison) was a French dramatist and poet. His works were extremely popular between 1900 and the start of World War I.  (Wikipedia)

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Claude Debussy by Nadar* 1908

*Félix Nadar, the pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1 April 1820, Paris – 23 March 1910), had many talents.  For instance, he was a ballonist.  However, he is remembered by most as a great photographer.

Claude-Achille Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) is, arguably, the most prominent French composer of the late nineteenth century.  He was extremely innovative.  According to Wikipedia, he was a “crucial figure in the transition to the modern era in Western music, [and] he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers.” (Wikipedia)

When I was researching Pierre Louÿs‘ Les Chansons de Bilitis, who may be the Greek poet Sappho, I discovered more than Barbier’s erotic illustrations.  The famous Claude Debussy had written music for twelve of Bilitis’s songs.

The Story is as follows…

During the winter of 1900-1901, Claude Debussy was asked by writer Pierre Louÿs to compose music for a public reading of twelve of Louÿs’ Chansons de Bilitis.  Debussy composed music to be performed by a rather unusual combination of instruments: two flutes, two harps and a celesta.

The score was not published at the time the music was composed.  In fact, the music was played only once during the composer’s lifetime, on 7 February 1901.  The autograph partition was then given to Pierre Louÿs, but the manuscript vanished.

However, there remained enough of the autograph partition for French composer, conductor and pianist Pierre Boulez to complete Debussy’s composition.  Debussy’s work was therefore performed again on 10 April 1954 during a concert of the Domaine Musical, a concert society established by Pierre Boulez in Paris.

Yet, Debussy’s composition remained in manuscript form until a score, prepared by Arthur Hoérée (1897-1986), a Belgian composer, was published in 1971.  Hoérée composed music for several films.

For lovers of Debussy’s music, hearing the following may prove a transcendental experience.  Debussy is a giant.

As for this blogger, she is now leaving Barbier behind as dealing with his entourage is leading her away from the blogs she is working on: Quebec.  There is more on Bilitis. Yet may I say that, although Bilitis knew Sappho and although the songs are attributed to Bilitis, Sappho was the greater poet.  What if the Songs of Bilitis meant: the songs Bilitis sang?  Well, it’s a mystery and mysteries can be convenient.

For more information on Bilitis, you may wish to visit Badaboomblog, a site operated by a French WordPress colleague.

I hope sincerely that you will enjoy Debussy’s / Hoérée’s music to accompany Les Chansons de Bilitis and wish you a lovely weekend.

 
© Micheline Walker
August 4th, 2012
WordPress
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Charles d’Orléans: Portrait of an Unlikely Poet

17 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in History, Literature, Songs

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Battle of Agincourt, Charles d'Orléans, Claude Debussy, Hella Haasse, Le Temps a laissé son manteau, Sir Richard Waller

Charles, Duc d'Orléans

Charles, Duc d’Orléans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Charles d’Orléans

In a blog entitled “Valentine’s Day: Martyrs and Birds,” I mentioned Charles d’Orléans who helped spread Othon de Grandson‘s FR stories about St Valentine’s Day at the court of France. I put a link to information concerning Charles d’Orléans, as there was no time or space to tell his story.

Charles d’Orléans & the Battle of Agincourt (1415)

Charles d’Orléans (24 November 1394, Paris – 5 January 1465) is a fascinating and intriguing figure. He became Duke of Orléans at the early age 13, when his father, Louis X, was assassinated by men acting on behalf of the Duke of Burgundy, the opposing faction.

Charles was wounded at the Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415) and was taken prisoner by Sir Richard Waller. Because he was a “prince du sang,” a prince of the blood, and, therefore, a possible heir to the throne of France, the King of England, Henri V, did not want him to return to France. Charles would spend nearly 25 years detained in England.

Charles as Prisoner:  the Beginning of a Lasting Friendship

During his imprisonment, he was not behind bars but housed quite comfortably in various castles.  One of these was Wallingford Castle, a castle that belonged to Sir Richard Waller who had captured him at the Battle of Agincourt, a key moment in the Hundred Years War (1337 to 1453).

Fortunately, a very sincere and long-lasting friendship grew between Sir Waller and the Duke, who, upon his release, was very generous to his friend and jailor. In fact, Sir Richard Waller added the fleur-de-lis to the Waller Coat of Arms. Moreover, Charles was a relatively free ‘prisoner,’ who frequently travelled to London, though never on his own. Yet, he was separated from his family and homeland for a very long time. Besides, he must have wondered whether France would survive and whether he would one day return to his homeland?

The Tower of London

The Tower of London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A poet is born

So, Charles whiled away the years of his lengthy captivity writing poems and songs, which, I would suspect, helped him cope with his “longue attente,” to use his own words. One could suggest, therefore, that he created for himself a “literary homeland,” which he never left. When he returned to France, he lived at the castle of Blois, where he entertained poets. One could suspect our prisoner was rescued by art and that art was his true calling. Charles d’Orléans is an important figure in the history of French literature.

A Son & Future King

But his poems are not his only legacy. At the age of 46, he married Marie de Clèves who was 14 years old. She bore him three children, one of whom would be Louis XII, King of France. Charles was 68 when his son was born. He had turned to poetry, but he was a “prince du sang” (a Prince of the Blood; possible heir to the throne of France), and so was his son.

Charles reçoit l’hommage d’un vassal (click to enlarge)

Hella Haasse

Charles’ best-known poem is En la forêt de longue attente, translated in 1949, as Het Woud der Verwachting, Hella Haasse (2 February 1918 – 29 September 2011).  Hella Haasse’s translations of Charles d’Orléans poetry created a revival of Charles’s poetry in France. But Debussy had already set some of Charles’s poems to the music he composed.

However, the following poem is the one that lingers in my mind:

Le temps a laissé son manteau
De vent, de froidure et de pluie
Et s’est vêtu de broderie,
De soleil luisant, clair et beau.
 

The season removed its coat
Of wind, cold and rain,
And put on embroidery,
Gleaming sunshine, bright and beautiful.

 
Il n’y a bête ni oiseau,
Qu’en son jargon ne chante ou crie:
“Le temps a laissé son manteau!
De vent, de froidure et de pluie.”
 

There is neither animal nor bird
That doesn’t tell in its own tongue:
The season removed his coat
of wind, cold and rain

 
Rivière, fontaine et ruisseau
Portent en livrée jolie,
Gouttes d’argent, d’orfèvrerie,
Chacun s’habille de nouveau
Le temps a laissé son manteau.
 

Rivers, fountains and brooks
Wear, as handsome garments,
Silver drops of goldsmith’s work;
Everyone puts on new clothing:
The season removed his coat.

 

So, the story of Charles d’Orléans is a story of survival. During his years of exile, he found a refuge in poetry, an above-mentioned “literary homeland.”

Let us consider his legacy. Yes, his son would be the King of France, as Louis XII. However, I am thinking of Charles d’Orléans’ poems and his songs. Charles d’Orléans died five hundred years ago, yet Charles d’Orléans lives in his poetry and songs, and he is forever linked to the lore of St Valentine’s Day.

 
(please click on the titles to hear the music)    
Charles d’Orléans: “Le temps a laissé son manteau,” Michel Polnareff
 
poet: Charles d’Orléans
piece:  “Le temps a laissé son manteau” 
performer: Ernst van Altena
 
© Micheline Walker
17 February 2012
WordPress
 
 
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