Blue Arabesque: A Search for the Sublime
PATRICIA HAMPL. Harcourt, $22 (224p) ISBN 0-15-101506-6
In
this discursive and absorbing interdisciplinary work, Hampl (A Romantic
Education) explores the artistic life from an impressively diverse number of
perspectives. Her starting place is Matisse’s Woman Before an Aquarium, a
painting that, to her, represents the languid, inward looking life of the
mind that leads to great art. From this image, Hampl sets off on an
intellectual journey that leads her from Matisse’s odalisques to those of
Delacroix and Ingres, then outward to the larger notions of orientalism and
exoticism that pervade such works. The pleasure of reading this book comes
from following Hampl as she skips swiftly from one subject to another while
maintaining a perfect consistency of tone and theme. In one particularly
illuminating sequence, Hampl discusses the career of Jerome Hill, a
documentary filmmaker from her hometown of St. Paul, Minn., who chronicled
the minutiae of his life in his final film; the hometown connection allows
Hampl to explore aspects of her own life as well. Whether discussing the
journals of Katherine Mansfield or the harems of the 18th century, Hampl
proves to be an authoritative and beguiling guide to the joys of leisure and
the intellect. (Nov.)