Subject
Echoes of _Invitation to a Beheading_'s Pierre the executioner
From
Date
Body
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Howerton" <phil@carolina.rr.com>
>
> Ran across today this little instance of nature imitating art and thought
I
> would pass it along to you. This comes from a book, Horned Pigeon,
written
> in 1946, by an Englishman named George MIllar, which book is a recounting
of
> his experiences as a WW II prisoner of war first of the Italians and then
of
> the Germans, from whom he escaped and made his way back to England, only
to
> parachute back into France a few months later to fight with the Maquis.
> This paragraph is from his description of his Italian captivity and one
> apparently crazy prison commandant whose mood swings went the distance
from
> "You will be shot at dawn" to "Sit down and have a cup of tea, old boy."
>
> "A new commandant had arrived following the destruction of the black
> market (in the prison). This man was a full colonel of the carabinieri.
We
> called him "The Bat" because he always fluttered around in a huge black
> cloak. He was a hairless man. He reminded me of the hairless Mexican in
> Maugham's extraordinary story, except that this Italian was plump and
short
> and noisy, a shouter of the worst kind. He wore a reddish wig under his
> cocked-up round military hat; and beneath that toppling pile of artificial
> hair and stiffened blue-grey cloth and silver braid, his face seemed to be
> made of pinky wax. When he spoke he jerked his mouth so widely that one
> feared his waxy cheeks would open in horrid, gaping, bloodless cracks."
>
> Aren't bats Rodents?
>
> Phil
>
>
> Judge Philip F. Howerton, Jr.
> 2812 Sunset Drive
> Charlotte, NC 28209
>
> "To be proud, to be brave, to be free." Vladimir Nabokov
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
> To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 7:26 PM
> Subject: Nabokov & Balthus
>
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "marie bouchet" <mmariebouchet@hotmail.com>
> > > ---------------- Message requiring your approval (121
> > lines) ------------------
> > >
> > > Dear list,
> > >
> > > For more parallels between Nabokov and Balthus, see Pierre Gault's
> > article
> > > « Between Latency and Knowledge : Figures of Preinitiation in Nabokov
> and
> > > Balthus », in Critical Angles : European Views of Contemporary
American
> > > Literature, Marc Chénetier (ed.), Carbondale & Edwarsdville : Southern
> > > Illinois University Press, 1986, pp. 125-144.
> > >
> > > Marie C. Bouchet
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > >From: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
> > > >Reply-To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > > >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > >Subject: Fw: Lolita-like images of half-dressed young girls led the
> Paris
> > > > art establishment .
> > > >Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 18:30:07 -0800
> > > >
> > > >EDNOTE. As an addendum to this item I note that Ellen Pifer's new
> > _VLADIMIR
> > > >NABOKOV: A Case Book_ has a Balthus painting on its cover.
> > > >
> > > >----- Original Message -----
> > > >From: Sandy P. Klein
> > > >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > >Cc:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2003-01-01-balthus_x.htm
> > > >
> > > >Balthus paints a textured memoir
> > > >By Andrea Hoag, Special for USA TODAY
> > > >
> > > >A long-awaited memoir from Balthus, the painter known for his erotic
> > > >nymphets, has finally arrived. The French painter died in 2001 at age
> 92
> > > >after years of shunning interviews, but this posthumous book dispels
> the
> > > >mystery surrounding one of the 20th century's most controversial
> careers.
> > > >
> > > >Oddly, the sense of turmoil he brought to his disturbing canvases is
> > > >nowhere to be found in the transcendent beauty of his prose.
> > > >
> > > >Balthus published his first book of line drawings at 13 with a
foreword
> > by
> > > >the poet Rilke, his mother's lover. It was a sign of things to come
> that
> > > >even early critics considered Balthus' unsentimental work
> "frightening."
> > > >
> > > > More about the book
> > > >
> > > > Vanished Splendors
> > > > By Balthus
> > > > Ecco, 237 pp., $29.95
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >When he arrived in Paris in 1924 at 16, Balthus made friends that
> > included
> > > >playwright Antonin Artaud and artists Georges Braque and Alberto
> > > >Giacometti. He bravely shunned contemporary art movements to pursue
> > figural
> > > >painting, considered old-fashioned by the avant-garde, and managed to
> > > >garner respect for his unique approach. Pablo Picasso once paid a
call
> to
> > > >Balthus' sixth-floor studio ("You had to want to visit me," Balthus
> > > >explains) and told the young man: "You're the only painter of your
> > > >generation who interests me. The others try to make Picassos. You
never
> > > >do."
> > > >
> > > >One-man shows were quick to follow, and again viewers were disturbed.
> > > >
> > > >Lolita-like images of half-dressed young girls led the Paris art
> > > >establishment to shun Balthus. Though he never visited the USA, even
> when
> > > >the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibited a retrospective of his work,
> > > >American patrons were most eager to purchase his paintings.
> > > >
> > > >The artist's unusual memoir is a collection of two-page chapters with
> > > >disorganized musings, but the memories are so delightfully written it
> is
> > > >easy to ignore this lack of uniformity. Vignettes are woven
throughout
> > the
> > > >text about his army days in Morocco, two marriages and even his many
> > grand
> > > >estates. The recollections are rendered in prose too rich and varied
to
> > be
> > > >devoured in one sitting.
> > > >
> > > >Balthus pauses only briefly to defend his reputation, laughably
calling
> > his
> > > >controversial adolescent models "angels."
> > > >
> > > >Also fascinating are Balthus' revelations about his work as longtime
> > > >director of the French Academy in Rome. He spent his tenure
> refurbishing
> > > >the tired Villa Medici and arguing with its frequent guests. Balthus
is
> > > >famous for causing French writer Marguerite Duras to abandon her
> opulent
> > > >guestroom after a clash of artistic values. She insisted that all art
> > must
> > > >be revolutionary, something the elder statesman scoffed at.
> > > >
> > > >Whether radical or just eerie, the work of Balthus has come to be
seen
> as
> > > >an important part of the 20th-century canon. Vanished Splendors will
> only
> > > >heighten the uneasy appeal of this long-enigmatic painter.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -----
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Find this article at:
> > > >
> > http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2003-01-01-balthus_x.htm
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -----
> > > >Protect your PC - Click here for McAfee.com VirusScan Online
> > >
> > >
> > > _________________________________________________________________
> > > Hotmail : un compte GRATUIT qui vous suit partout et tout le temps !
> > > http://g.msn.fr/FR1000/9493
> > >
>
>
From: "Phil Howerton" <phil@carolina.rr.com>
>
> Ran across today this little instance of nature imitating art and thought
I
> would pass it along to you. This comes from a book, Horned Pigeon,
written
> in 1946, by an Englishman named George MIllar, which book is a recounting
of
> his experiences as a WW II prisoner of war first of the Italians and then
of
> the Germans, from whom he escaped and made his way back to England, only
to
> parachute back into France a few months later to fight with the Maquis.
> This paragraph is from his description of his Italian captivity and one
> apparently crazy prison commandant whose mood swings went the distance
from
> "You will be shot at dawn" to "Sit down and have a cup of tea, old boy."
>
> "A new commandant had arrived following the destruction of the black
> market (in the prison). This man was a full colonel of the carabinieri.
We
> called him "The Bat" because he always fluttered around in a huge black
> cloak. He was a hairless man. He reminded me of the hairless Mexican in
> Maugham's extraordinary story, except that this Italian was plump and
short
> and noisy, a shouter of the worst kind. He wore a reddish wig under his
> cocked-up round military hat; and beneath that toppling pile of artificial
> hair and stiffened blue-grey cloth and silver braid, his face seemed to be
> made of pinky wax. When he spoke he jerked his mouth so widely that one
> feared his waxy cheeks would open in horrid, gaping, bloodless cracks."
>
> Aren't bats Rodents?
>
> Phil
>
>
> Judge Philip F. Howerton, Jr.
> 2812 Sunset Drive
> Charlotte, NC 28209
>
> "To be proud, to be brave, to be free." Vladimir Nabokov
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
> To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 7:26 PM
> Subject: Nabokov & Balthus
>
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "marie bouchet" <mmariebouchet@hotmail.com>
> > > ---------------- Message requiring your approval (121
> > lines) ------------------
> > >
> > > Dear list,
> > >
> > > For more parallels between Nabokov and Balthus, see Pierre Gault's
> > article
> > > « Between Latency and Knowledge : Figures of Preinitiation in Nabokov
> and
> > > Balthus », in Critical Angles : European Views of Contemporary
American
> > > Literature, Marc Chénetier (ed.), Carbondale & Edwarsdville : Southern
> > > Illinois University Press, 1986, pp. 125-144.
> > >
> > > Marie C. Bouchet
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > >From: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
> > > >Reply-To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > > >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > >Subject: Fw: Lolita-like images of half-dressed young girls led the
> Paris
> > > > art establishment .
> > > >Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 18:30:07 -0800
> > > >
> > > >EDNOTE. As an addendum to this item I note that Ellen Pifer's new
> > _VLADIMIR
> > > >NABOKOV: A Case Book_ has a Balthus painting on its cover.
> > > >
> > > >----- Original Message -----
> > > >From: Sandy P. Klein
> > > >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > >Cc:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2003-01-01-balthus_x.htm
> > > >
> > > >Balthus paints a textured memoir
> > > >By Andrea Hoag, Special for USA TODAY
> > > >
> > > >A long-awaited memoir from Balthus, the painter known for his erotic
> > > >nymphets, has finally arrived. The French painter died in 2001 at age
> 92
> > > >after years of shunning interviews, but this posthumous book dispels
> the
> > > >mystery surrounding one of the 20th century's most controversial
> careers.
> > > >
> > > >Oddly, the sense of turmoil he brought to his disturbing canvases is
> > > >nowhere to be found in the transcendent beauty of his prose.
> > > >
> > > >Balthus published his first book of line drawings at 13 with a
foreword
> > by
> > > >the poet Rilke, his mother's lover. It was a sign of things to come
> that
> > > >even early critics considered Balthus' unsentimental work
> "frightening."
> > > >
> > > > More about the book
> > > >
> > > > Vanished Splendors
> > > > By Balthus
> > > > Ecco, 237 pp., $29.95
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >When he arrived in Paris in 1924 at 16, Balthus made friends that
> > included
> > > >playwright Antonin Artaud and artists Georges Braque and Alberto
> > > >Giacometti. He bravely shunned contemporary art movements to pursue
> > figural
> > > >painting, considered old-fashioned by the avant-garde, and managed to
> > > >garner respect for his unique approach. Pablo Picasso once paid a
call
> to
> > > >Balthus' sixth-floor studio ("You had to want to visit me," Balthus
> > > >explains) and told the young man: "You're the only painter of your
> > > >generation who interests me. The others try to make Picassos. You
never
> > > >do."
> > > >
> > > >One-man shows were quick to follow, and again viewers were disturbed.
> > > >
> > > >Lolita-like images of half-dressed young girls led the Paris art
> > > >establishment to shun Balthus. Though he never visited the USA, even
> when
> > > >the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibited a retrospective of his work,
> > > >American patrons were most eager to purchase his paintings.
> > > >
> > > >The artist's unusual memoir is a collection of two-page chapters with
> > > >disorganized musings, but the memories are so delightfully written it
> is
> > > >easy to ignore this lack of uniformity. Vignettes are woven
throughout
> > the
> > > >text about his army days in Morocco, two marriages and even his many
> > grand
> > > >estates. The recollections are rendered in prose too rich and varied
to
> > be
> > > >devoured in one sitting.
> > > >
> > > >Balthus pauses only briefly to defend his reputation, laughably
calling
> > his
> > > >controversial adolescent models "angels."
> > > >
> > > >Also fascinating are Balthus' revelations about his work as longtime
> > > >director of the French Academy in Rome. He spent his tenure
> refurbishing
> > > >the tired Villa Medici and arguing with its frequent guests. Balthus
is
> > > >famous for causing French writer Marguerite Duras to abandon her
> opulent
> > > >guestroom after a clash of artistic values. She insisted that all art
> > must
> > > >be revolutionary, something the elder statesman scoffed at.
> > > >
> > > >Whether radical or just eerie, the work of Balthus has come to be
seen
> as
> > > >an important part of the 20th-century canon. Vanished Splendors will
> only
> > > >heighten the uneasy appeal of this long-enigmatic painter.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -----
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Find this article at:
> > > >
> > http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2003-01-01-balthus_x.htm
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -----
> > > >Protect your PC - Click here for McAfee.com VirusScan Online
> > >
> > >
> > > _________________________________________________________________
> > > Hotmail : un compte GRATUIT qui vous suit partout et tout le temps !
> > > http://g.msn.fr/FR1000/9493
> > >
>
>