Olympia's Look Response

In Susan Vreeland’s short story, Olympia’s Look, the main character is Suzanne Manet. The story is set shortly after the death of the great artist, Edouard Manet, who was Suzanne’s husband. In this story, I feel that there is a drastic shift in Suzanne’s personality and character from before Edouard died to after his death. Before his death, Suzanne seems reserved and quiet. She loved Edouard and was very devoted to him, so much so in fact, that she did not want to confront him about his many mistresses for fear of a large argument. She turned “a blind eye every time he burst into the apartment flushed and elated, passing it off as the joy he took in painting” (Vreeland 75). When she finds a romantic note addressed to Isabelle, one of Manet’s models, from Edouard, she tries to place it somewhere where Edouard would find it in hopes that maybe he would bring it up in conversation. She dares not approach him about it. “If he sees it, she thought, we’ll talk about it. If he doesn’t, we won’t” (Vreeland 77). I like this passage because it is simple and to the point. It fully demonstrates her passive nature. She doesn’t want to be the one to start anything, but would rather have her husband bring it up. When Edouard Manet dies, it seems as though she makes a conscious effort to change her personality. “She would be alone. She’d have to get over her anger, timidity, and grief, all at the same time. She’d have to speak her mind. She couldn’t retreat into her music” (Vreeland 77). Suzanne seems to be in control of her own life when her husband dies. No longer is she the quiet, timid housewife in the background. She is much more demanding and has a desire to have her voice heard. This new side of Suzanne is evident when she goes to see Victorine, Edouard Manet’s favorite mistress and model. She confronts Victorine about her relationship with Edouard. When Victorine says that she “collaborated with him,” Suzanne seems to scoff and replies, “A mere commercial venture. A deal. ‘You give me what I need and I give you what you need.’ Nothing freely offered. Nothing bountifully given from an overflowing well of feeling. Everything measured. Meted out” (Vreeland 86). I believe that Suzanne is a stronger woman after Manet dies. She speaks her mind and is no longer afraid of confrontation. Connecting with the next prompt, I believe that Suzanne has more of a free will when Edouard dies, whereas before she was only reacting to the forces and events in her life. However, she chose to react to them by staying in the background and not confronting her problems. I thought this story was well written. Honestly, I’m not too picky about what I read. I thought this had a pretty interesting storyline and I enjoyed it. From what we learned in class in the lecture on Manet, it seemed that there were a lot of factual elements in the story, especially dealing with the paintings.

Who is that person really?

Jones, Jonathon. "My Parents, David Hockney." The Guardian 19 Jan 2002 2 Feb 2009
.
This article focused on David Hockney’s painting, My Parents. In this work, Hockney was trying to distance himself from his earlier work by preoccupying himself more with method rather than content. The subjects of this painting are not his parents, as the title suggests. Their names are Chardin and Piero della Francesca. However, in the portrait of this elderly couple, Hockney seems to bring out the personalities his actual parents. Hockney's parents were strong-minded individuals, which rubbed off on their son. His mother was religious and a vegetarian, which was unusual at the time. His father, who died a year after this painting was done, was an anti-war campaigner and noted Bradford character who fiercely opposed smoking. In this painting, one gets the feeling that the subjects are nostalgic for a simpler, sparser and perhaps more moral world. David Hockney left his parents to pursue art, but perhaps this work of his is an attempt to bring them close again.

Lucie-Smith, Edward. "David Hockney." Lives of the Great 20th-Century Artists 2 Feb 2009
.
This article is a brief biography of David Hockney. He was born in Bradford, England in 1937. He began attending a local art school at the age of 16. Then, in 1959, he went to the Royal College of Art in London to continue his studies. His time in that college was full of discovery, both with his own homosexuality and with his style. He made his first major impact as a painter with the Young Contemporaries Exhibition of January 1961. Upon leaving school, Hockney was already quite successful. He moved to Los Angeles, and the lifestyle and landscapes there became important features of his work. Here he also found his lover and favorite model, Peter Schlesinger. He became interested in the full spectrum of art, and, not wanting to limit himself to painting, began to design sets for theater and experiment with Polaroid cameras. He continues to work with art and now lives in his house in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.