Spencer Alley: Graphic Images from the Rijksmuseum (19th century)

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Graphic Images from the Rijksmuseum (19th century)

Anonymous Dutch printmaker
Self Portrait of painter Karel Dujardin
1838
unfinished steel engraving after oil painting of 1662
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Unfinished Business (Le pratiche inevase)

Sir, please accept my resignation
As of next month,
And, if it seems right, plan on replacing me.
I'm leaving much unfinished work,
Whether out of laziness or actual problems.
I was supposed to tell someone something,
But I no longer know what and to whom: I've forgotten.
I was also supposed to donate something –
A wise word, a gift, a kiss;
I put it off from one day to the next. I'm sorry.
I'll do it in the short time that remains.
I'm afraid I've neglected important clients.
I was meant to visit
Distant cities, islands, desert lands;
You'll have to cut them from the program
Or entrust them to my successor.
I was supposed to plant trees and I didn't;
To build myself a house,
Maybe not beautiful, but based on plans.
Mainly, I had in mind
A marvelous book, kind sir,
Which would have revealed many secrets,
Alleviated pains and fears,
Eased doubts, given many
The gift of tears and laughter.
You'll find its outline in my drawer,
Down below, with the unfinished business;
I didn't have the time to write it out, which is a shame,
It would have been a fundamental work.

– Primo Levi (1981), translated by Jonathan Galassi (2015)

Kobayashi Kiyochika
Chinese Battleship sinking in the North China Sea
1894
color woodblock print
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Antoine-Maxime Monsaldy
View of paintings displayed at the Central Museum of Arts in the Year IX (French Revolutionary Calendar)
ca. 1801
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Exhibition Was Very Beautiful

The exhibition opened on a rainy Thursday, with cello suite.
They hung the paintings to be viewed from both front and back.
Luna moths flapped their great green sail-wings.
Stingrays flapped their great gray sail-wings.
Those visiting the exhibition were encouraged to touch.
Captions were available in Braille and audio.
The exhibition tasted like cherries.
A critic asked if the exhibition was a "facile juxtaposition of ideals."
The mother of the exhibition calls constantly and the father, never.
The exhibition has taken to pouring a little scotch in the coffee.
When designing layout, remember
it is crucial how a bias cut fits at the exhibition's hips
and foot traffic turns to the right, not the left.
They hung the sculptures to be viewed from both above and below.
They painted the walls a shade of "eggshell, minus calcium."
The exhibition did not consider itself an exhibitionist
until the incident at the east window.
The exhibition is very sorry and will refund upon request.
Stingrays flapped their great gray sail-wings.
Luna moths flapped their great green sail-wings.
No matter how short a trip, the exhibition packs two pairs of shoes.
The exhibition never knows when it is coming home again.

– Sandra Beasley (2013)