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| Antico Cupid ca. 1520 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Severo da Ravenna Bust of Classical Philosopher ca. 1505-1525 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| workshop of Severo da Ravenna Inkwell in form of Satyress and her Infant ca. 1520 bronze Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
Diminished Galleries
too old for
vision I must
settle for dreams
specific forms
of cloud
(body surrounded by
body)
every sensation con-
ceals a dream
fresco
figurine
sculpture in
low relief
(a motor halo a
mental blue)
cleft in the
logical space
(wilderness or
wrack)
we have lived
on a ladder to
the window of a
room to which
the key is lost
(words lost
in the music)
– Keith Waldrop
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| attributed to Giovanni Francesco Rustici Rider on Rearing Horse ca. 1530-50 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| follower of Riccio (Andrea Briosco) Base for Oil Lamp ca. 1530-39 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| attributed to Giacomo del Duca after Michelangelo David ca. 1540 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Agostino Zoppo Oil Lamp in form of Bearded Acrobat ca. 1540 bronze Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Agostino Zoppo Chronos ca. 1550 bronze Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| attributed to Tiziano Aspetti Inkwell with the Tiber, Romulus and Remus with She-Wolf, and arms of the Della Rovere ca. 1547-48 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
What Our Dead Do
Jan came this morning
– I dreamt of my father
he says
he was riding in an oak coffin
I walked next to the hearse
and father turned to me:
you dressed me nicely
and the funeral is very beautiful
at this time of year so many flowers
it must have cost a lot
don't worry about it father
– I say – let people see
we loved you
that we spared nothing
six men in black livery
walk nicely at our sides
father thought for a while
and said – the key to the desk
is in the silver inkwell
there is still some money
in the second drawer on the left
with this money – I say –
we will buy you a gravestone
a large one of black marble
it isn't necessary – says father –
better give it to the poor
six men in black livery
walk nicely at our sides
they carry burning lanterns
again he seemed to be thinking
– take care of the flowers in the garden
cover them for the winter
I don't want them to be wasted
you are the oldest – he says –
from a little felt bag behind the painting
take out the cuff links with real pearls
let them bring you luck
my mother gave them to me
when I finished high school
then he didn't say anything
he must have entered a deeper sleep
this is how our dead
look after us
they warn us through dreams
bring back lost money
hunt for jobs
whisper the numbers of lottery tickets
or when they can't do this
knock with their fingers on the windows
and out of gratitude
we imagine immortality for them
snug as the burrow of a mouse
– Zbigniew Herbert, translated by John Carpenter and Bogdana Carpenter
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| attributed to Willem Danielsz van Tetrode Mercury ca. 1560-65 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Ferdinando Tacca Suicide of Dido Queen of Carthage ca. 1630-50 bronze Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Anonymous sculptor working in Florence Bacchus and Panther 16th-17th century bronze Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| after a model by Giambologna Hercules and the Erymanthian Boar ca. 1650 bronze Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Francesco Bertos An Allegory of Triumph ca. 1700 bronze Victoria & Albert Museum |
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| Anonymous French sculptor Ceres ca, 1745-49 bronze Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |