Greetings Readers!
Here is the next volume of our series — The Wisdom of Art. This series invites us to pause from our busy lives to explore the wisdom of art and poetry. For full access to this series, Sundays with Seneca, Letters to a Young Seeker, and other benefits—consider becoming a paid member. If you cannot afford it, feel free to request a complimentary membership or use this discount link.
Here is a painting, a poem, and a bit of prose…
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island (Painting)
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, painted in 1884, is one of Georges Seurat's most famous works. It is a leading example of the pointillist technique, executed on a large canvas. Seurat's composition includes several Parisians at a park on the banks of the River Seine. This most famous and influential Neo-Impressionist work depicts a cross-section of Paris society enjoying a Sunday afternoon in the park on an island in the Seine River just at the gates of Paris. Seurat took two years to complete this large-scale painting using a grid system and applying small dots of paint.
Seurat hoped to capture the permanence or essential forms behind the fleeting moments. Everyone here is caught in a still pose, except for the child in the orange dress skipping off into the trees, the man on the far left playing trombone, and the furious little dog at the lower right. However, it seems a stillness that might burst into movement at any moment, just as the upper half of the painting moves into the sunlight and the boats in the distance cut across the river. While Seurat invoked classical and Egyptian figures, some have interpreted the overall static effect of the composition and the stiffness of the poses as a critique of the artificiality of modern society and the boredom of middle-class life.
— WikiArt: Visual Art Encyclepedia
The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls (Poem)
The tide rises, the tide falls, The twilight darkens, the curlew calls; Along the sea-sands damp and brown The traveller hastens toward the town, And the tide rises, the tide falls. Darkness settles on roofs and walls, But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls; The little waves, with their soft, white hands, Efface the footprints in the sands, And the tide rises, the tide falls. The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls; The day returns, but nevermore Returns the traveller to the shore, And the tide rises, the tide falls.
“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” is one of Longfellow’s most famous short poems. This piece, just like those that made him a household name during his lifetime, touches on a subject matter relatable to all readers—life and death.
The Art of Impermanence (Prose)
The Longfellow poem is one of my favorites; it comes from a new edition to my nightstand, Immortal Poems of the English Language, edited by Oscar Williams. The topic of impermanence is an eternal truth. The notion “this too shall pass” is as universal as it gets. You find it in spiritual and philosophical traditions as well as art and poetry.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Perennial Meditations to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.