Breathless, spell bound and awestruck, I stop right in front of it. Before me is the most beautiful scene I have ever set eyes on. A Roman couple, blissfully in love, engrossed in each other to the point of oblivion. A look of peace, happiness, surrender on her beautiful, radiant face. Indulgence, pride and infinite tenderness on his. Time seems to have stopped for them and nothing seems to matter, just that moment, as they nestle in each others arms. Above them, their protector, Cupid embraces them with his garland of roses. I cannot take my eyes away from the three of them, the couple blissfully unaware of anything but each other, and the little cherub watching over them lovingly.
Suddenly, my gaze shifts to a sinister looking, cloaked lady in green looming over the lovers and their benefactor. Who is she? Why is she armed with a pair of shears? And why is she set to snap a thread that seems in some way connected to the two lovers? What a contrast between the figures. I can feel the warm, happy glow that had enveloped me as I watched the lovers give way to an icy cold shiver. One look at the cold, dark expression on her face, and I feel a lump in my throat. I start to hear a high pitched scream “No…” and realize that if I do not stifle the rising lump in my throat, I will cry out loud. Who is she? What is she doing here?
She is Atropos, the oldest of the three Moirae - the Greek goddesses of fate and destiny and the daughters of Nyx, the night. Her sister Clotho spins the thread of life for each mortal. Her other sister Lachesis measures the length of this thread. It is Atropos who chooses to end the life of each mortal by cutting their thread with her "abhorred shears."
That explains the two threads entwined together and the ominous shears ready to sever them. That explains the inflexible and inevitable expression on her mysterious face. But which of the two lovers is going to be snatched away by death? Which of them will be left behind to spend a forlorn life, laden with memories, lovelorn and devoid of all hope? As my misty gaze wanders back to the love and passion resplendent on their unsuspecting faces, I cannot help but wonder who among them will really be dead – the one who ceases to live or the one who has to attempt to live without the other.
----A visit to the Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota bestowed on me an experience I will never forget. I cannot remember anything that has moved or touched me so much and with
such intensity in recent times. The painting I am talking about is named "Roman
Courtship" and is by Sir William E. Reynolds-Stephens, 1862-1943. The painting is a
copyright of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida. Though I
have not been able to find a link to the picture, I am going to attach a photograph of it that
I took at the museum. Please note that all copyrights for this painting belong to the The
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota.
4 comments:
it is better to have loved and lost ha?
Good question.. yet One that i have never been able to come up with an answer for.. what do you think?
I felt the same way when I saw that painting in FL. Like no other there - I could not take my eyes off of it. It was so real - like you could reach in there and pat her on the tummy. I wondered about the characters above and behind the lovers. Thank you.
It is like a study in depth.
Did you notice how the artist put in the cupid and the 'sister' - on a ledge that would otherwise be presumed to be no more than 2" wide. Amazing. I think that is part of the intrigue of this masterpiece. I framed the postcard and have it in a collage of stuff on my desk wall. Love it.
Thanks again for the information about the mystery images.
Pat
Where did you get your information from is what I would like to know as I am sitting here getting back ache from searching to depths unknown. I have yet to come across any information regarding this painting. Would love to know where you heard this.
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