Sunday, May 12, 2013

Upon repeated visits...


Mary Cassatt, Five O'Clock Tea (1880)

I return to paintings, the way I revisit a favorite novel, or order the same dish at a specific restaurant: with anticipation of acquaintance spiced by the knowledge that I will discover something new.

Recently, as I gaze at Cassatt's tea drinkers, I find myself examining the pattern of the upholstery.   I also notice more than before the vase in the painting hanging over the mantlepiece.

When I next look at the picture, what other nuance might strike me?

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