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| Antonio Acquaroni Forum of Trajan, Rome 1827 drawing Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| Edward Lear Ear of Dionysius (Orecchio di Dionisio) 1842 drawing Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| George Arthur Fripp View of Tivoli 1842 watercolor and gouache Minneapolis Institute of Art |
The Blue Grotto
The boatman rowed into
That often-sung impasse.
Each visitor foreknew
A floor of lilting glass,
A vault of stone, lit blue.
But here we faced the fact.
As misty expectations
Dispersed, and wavelets thwacked
In something like impatience,
The point was to react.
Alas for characteristics!
Diane fingered the water.
Don tested the acoustics
With a paragraph from Pater.
Jon shut his eyes – these mystics –
Thinking his mantra. Jack
Came out with a one-liner,
While claustrophobiac
Janet fought off a minor
Anxiety attack.
Then from our gnarled (his name?)
Boatman (Gennaro!) burst
Some local, vocal gem
Ten times a day rehearsed.
It put us all to shame:
The astute sob, the kiss
Blown in sheer routine
Unselfconsciousness
Before one left the scene . . .
Years passed, and I wrote this.
– James Merrill (1982)
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| Gustav Klimt Renaissance Italy (decorative painting for the Kunsthistorisches Museum) 1891- pigment on plaster Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Gustav Klimt Renaissance Florence (decorative painting for the Kunsthistorisches Museum) 1891 pigment on plaster Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Gustav Klimt Renaissance Venice (decorative painting for the Kunsthistorisches Museum) 1891 pigment on plaster Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Gustav Klimt Ancient Greece (decorative painting for the Kunsthistorisches Museum) 1891 pigment on plaster Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Carlo Labruzzi Grotto of Tiberius at Sperlonga early 19th century watercolor Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| Carlo Labruzzi Landscape with Ruins early 19th century watercolor Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| Elihu Vedder Storm in Umbria 1875 oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Monte Pincio, Rome ca. 1840-50 oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny Corinth - Temple of Neptune 1845 etching Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny The Acropolis of Athens 1845 etching Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Jakob Alt View of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli and the Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome 1835 watercolor Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |