Artfrom the French of Theophile Gautier
Those media work best
Bondage is form's abuse;
while fashionable shops,
Don't mess about with clay,
In the resistant stone
And take from Syracuse
With a judicious hand
Avoid what's thin and wet.
Give siren, mermaid, whale
and in the triple lobe
Art's all that we can trust
and one austere medal
Verses are sovereign
Take chisel, mallet, file:
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tt tt
Oui, l'oeuvre sort plus belle
Point de contraintes fausses!
Fi du rhythme commode,
Statuaire, repousse
Lutte avec le carrare,
Emprunte à Syracuse
D'une main délicate
Peintre, fuis l'aquarelle,
Fais les sirènes bleues,
Dans son nimbe trilobe
Tout passe. L'art robuste
Et la médaille austère
Les dieux eux-mèmes meurent
Sculpte, lime, cisèle;
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Productivitya response to Gautier
No one sweats at the block like that, -------------------------
© Brian Fewster. |