“Muse inspiring a poet” ( French: La muse inspirant le poète , or “Poet and Muse”) is a portrait of the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire and his beloved artist Marie Laurencin , created by French primitive artist Henri Russo in 1909.
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| Henri Russo | ||
| Muse, inspiring poet . 1909 | ||
| La muse inspirant le poète | ||
| Canvas, oil. 146 × 97 cm | ||
| Museum of Art , Basel | ||
| ( inv. ) | ||
Rousseau met Apollinaire in 1907. In the allegorical painting “The Muse Inspiring the Poet”, Apollinaire appears in a cartoon form against the background of lush green vegetation of imaginary tropical jungle. In his hands are attributes of poetic mastery - a pen and a scroll of paper. Marie Laurencin, in the role of a muse dressed in antique peplos , overshadows the poet with a gesture of his right hand. Flowers in the foreground, according to the author, should symbolize the immortal soul of the poet. The name of this picture was given by the artist himself.
In a letter to Apollinaire, Russo wrote: “I always look forward to your muse. I would like her to come again to pose. " The difficult financial situation of the artist made him ask the advance payment from Apollinaire: “I hope that you will not refuse to give me some money as an advance for the work on your portrait. Many asked me how much I sold it, I replied that for 300 francs, and they found it to be inexpensive; true, it was friendly ... I really need money now, today I have only 15 sous left for dinner. ”
Another version of the picture, slightly different from the first, is exhibited in the 21st hall on the third floor of the A. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow .
Sources
- State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin. Art Gallery of the countries of Europe and America of the XIX — XX centuries. - M .: Red Square, 2007 .-- S. 190. - ISBN 978-5-900743-34-9 .
- Afonkin S. Yu. World Art. Intrigues, scandals and investigations in painting. - St. Petersburg: SZKEO LLC, 2008. - P. 72-75. - 128 p. - ISBN 978-5-9603-0095-7 .
Links
- “Muse inspiring a poet” in the database of the Basel Museum of Art (inaccessible link) (German)