POETS UNITED - BOREDOM

“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” - Henry Van Dyke

This week PoetsUnited is looking at “Boredom” for its midweek poetry motif. My grandfather used to say that “only boring people get bored”, and I could see his point, considering when and how he lived: Time was precious, work tasks never-ending and leisure a rare thing, with the time devoted to it short and sweet – how so to be bored? I must say that I too, have never felt bored in my life. My interests too many, my activities multitudinous and varied, my work relentless and my own leisure time carefully spent, savoured like the last single lemon candy one sucks slowly to make it last.

I read Bukowski’s poems on the Poets United site this week a couple of times. They annoyed me. He may be well regarded, he may be famous, called a master wordsmith, a brilliant writer, but his voice fails to speak to me. I read the introduction again and the theme this week seemed to hint more at writer’s block than boredom. “Boredom” as a theme flummoxed me…

I had to go back in time, think of the idle rich and come up with this, my contribution:

Ennui

Madame looks at the ormolu clock,

It ticks, it’s working, yet time seems to stand still…

She feels the texture of the Sèvres fine bone china

And sips the fine, hot, blond Oolong tea –

“Je m’ennuie tellement,

que je voudrais mourir maintenant…” She thinks

She feels the fine silk of Shanghai

As it caresses her softest skin,

She touches her carefully coiffed hair, all in order,

And her silver gilt mirror reflects her beautiful face –

“Je m’ennuie, ça me tue”, She says,

“Franchement, je ne sais plus quoi faire de ma vie!”

The diamonds of her necklace sparkle,

Madame’s hands are bejewelled too, rings, bracelets…

A golden platter full of friandises, petits fours, sugar almonds,

And the latest novels lying forlorn, discarded on the fauteuil –

“Je m’ennuie comme un rat mort,

l’ennui est tellement ennuyeux…” She concludes.

And later, when her lovely head is so easily sliced off,

By the sharp and heavy blade of the efficient guillotine,

One could quite truthfully say,

Madame had surely died of boredom…

THIS MORTAL COIL

“To sleep perchance to dream…” - William Shakespeare, “Hamlet”

“To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause: there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life;”

'Mortal coil' is a poetic term that means the troubles of daily life and the strife and suffering of the world. It is used in the sense of a burden to be carried or abandoned, most famously in the phrase “shuffled off this mortal coil” from “Hamlet”. Apropos, I feature the eighties British pop group “This Mortal Coil”

The track “Song to the Siren”, originally written by Tim Buckley, is sung by Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins; it was released as a single and brought the “It’ll End in Tears” (1984) album to prominence. The music is considered Goth, as the songs have been described as haunting and harrowing, yet ultimately uplifting or even timeless.

Song to the Siren

On the floating, shipless, oceans
I did all my best to smile
Till your singing eyes and fingers
Drew me loving into your eyes.
And you sang
"Sail to me, sail to me,
Let me enfold you.
"Here I am, here I am
waiting to hold you.
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was full sail?
Now my foolish boat is leaning,
Broken lovelorn on your rocks.
For you sang
"Touch me not, touch me not,
Come back tomorrow."
Oh my heart, oh my heart shies from the sorrow.
I'm as puzzled as a newborn child.
I'm as riddled as the tide.
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Or shall I lie with death my bride?
Hear me sing:
"Swim to me, swim to me,
Let me enfold you.
"Here I am, Here I am, waiting to hold you."

MOVIE MONDAY - ANGEL-A

“We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end.” - BenjaminDisraeli

We watched a quirky, fun film the other day, which we enjoyed quite a lot. It was Luc Besson’s 2005 comedy/fantasy “Angel-A” starring Rie Rasmussen, Jamel Debbouze and Gilbert Melki. Luc Besson also wrote the screenplay, and it seems to have been a labour of love. Although not entirely original, the plot works and hinges on redemption and personal growth of the protagonist to make it appealing for the viewer.

The plot has as follows: André (Jamel Debbouze) is a small-time ex-convict who seems to owe money to everyone in Paris, including a crime boss who threatens to kill him if he doesn’t repay him by midnight. After failing to find protection from the American embassy and the French police, a despairing André scrambles onto a bridge over the Seine, intending to leap to his death. He is surprised to see a tall, beautiful girl (Rie Rasmussen) clinging to a rail on the same bridge, apparently preparing to end her life as well. She jumps, and he jumps too, suddenly resolving to save her life. After scrambling ashore, she tells him her name is Angel-A. Together, they take a cruise on the Seine, repay André’s creditors, visit a Parisian nightspot, and more, as Angel-A helps André. He learns that for this purpose she has fallen out of the sky and into his life. André finds himself falling in love with this mysterious beauty…

We enjoyed in particular the atmospheric black and white-photography by cinematographer Thierry Arbogast, who also worked on Besson’s previous films. Autumnal Paris, is beautifully shot with external shots showing well-balanced lighting. Many famous Paris sights make an appearance and one can take it all in, enjoying the sights as well. The lead actors are perfectly cast for their roles and play with verve and gusto. There is a great deal of chemistry between the gangly Angel-A and the ratso André and one can tell that these actors had a great deal of fun while making the movie.

The plot device of angels coming to earth to help humans is not a new one. However, Angel-A is a strange angel, who appears to be quite earthy and not unwilling to gets her hands dirty in order to help her charge. The way that she makes money in order to get André debt-free is quite unangel-like to say the least. There is a lot of clever, funny repartee between André and Angel-A, and no car chases and explosions as one has seen in other Besson films.

The film can be seen as an instruction manual on cognitive therapy, which has a goal to transform distorted thinking. Angel-A is André’s therapist, giving him reasons to love himself, and teaching him techniques to change the way he thinks or speaks of himself. She teaches him to love himself and thus allowing himself to love others too.

ART SUNDAY - MURILLO & FATHER'S DAY

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” Sigmund Freud

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618-1682) was the youngest of fourteen children of a Sevillian barber, Gaspar Esteban, and his wife Maria Peres. In 1627, his father died, a year later he lost his mother. Murillo’s elder sisters and brothers were already grown up and could take care of themselves, while the 10 year old Bartolomé was adopted into the family of his aunt, married to a wealthy Sevillian doctor. Murillo was apprenticed early to a painter Juan del Castillo (1584-1640).

When, in 1639, Castillo left Seville for Cadiz, Murillo did not enter any workshop of a known artist, as it was the traditional way of all the beginners, but preferred to stay independent. It is said that to gain a living Murillo started to make sargas - cheap paintings on rough canvas sold at country fairs, and shipped to America by traders. Obviously his paintings appealed to the taste of the public, besides they revealed a certain talent of the young man. That was why the Franciscan monastery in Seville commissioned this unknown artist with a cycle of 11 paintings with scenes from the lives of Franciscan saints, which, after their execution, brought Murillo fame.

The artist dated his works very seldom. The first dated canvas belongs to the cycle for the Franciscan Monastery: One of the paintings is dated 1646, thus the whole series is usually dated 1645-46. But some art historians consider that the work took a longer period, of approximately 1642-1646. The canvases of the cycle are executed in different styles; thus some art historians consider that Cuisine of Angels (Miracle of St. Diego de Alcada) was inspired by Rivera; Death of St. Clara was influenced by van Dyck; and Velazquez had an effect on St. Diego Giving Charity. Even if it is really so, no wonder, the young artist was studying, during this long work his own style of soft forms and warm colours was being formed.

At some point in his life, probably in the late 1640s, Murillo is believed to have visited Madrid. In any case, after 1650 his style changed, which might be the result of his meeting with Velazquez and studying of the works of Titian, Rubens, and Van Dyck in the royal collections in Madrid. On February 26, 1645 Murillo married Beatrice Sotomajor-i-Cabrera; soon their first daughter, named Maria, was born (died 1650).

In 1647-1654 the artist painted a lot of ‘Madonnas’, small in size, the canvases were aimed for home altars: Madonna of the Rosary, Madonna and Child. Already in his early religious paintings for the Franciscans Murillo widely used the genre scenes, which soon became a separate subject in his works: The Beggar Boy (1650), Grape and Melon Eaters. (c.1650), The Little Fruit Seller. (c.1670-1675) etc. Today considered somewhat sentimental, his genre scenes nevertheless represent a new way of perception. Murillo’s ‘children’, as well as his ‘Madonnas’, very soon became popular not only in Spain. Thanks to them he was the first Spanish painter to achieve widespread European fame. To the 1650s, also belong many of his portraits. Unfortunately, we do not know anything about the depicted people, even when they are identified, and we know their names.

With fame and multiple commissions the financial position of the artist became secured. It is known that in 1657 Murillo invested big money in a trade company in the New World, he bought slaves for his household. In 1662, he was admitted to several religious organizations of Seville. These organizations reminded in their structure and activities the later mason loges. Murillo also took an active part in the social life of his city. Thus he was one of the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts in Seville, which was opened in 1660, with Murillo as its first president.

In January 1664, Murillo buried his wife. Though 20 years of his life were still ahead, and during these 20 years he would painted 2/3 of all his known works, Murillo would never fully recover from this blow. During 1664, he could not work, at the end of the year he moved with all his surviving children (Jose Esteban, aged 14, Francisca Maria, aged 9, Gabriel, aged 8, Gaspar Esteban, aged 2, and infant Maria) into the Convent of Capuchins. From 1665 to 1682, he painted many of his major religious works, such as those for the Santa Maria la Blanca (1665), of the Caridad Hospital (1670-74), of the Capuchins (1676), of the Venerables Sacerdotes (1678), of the Augustinians (1680), and, lastly, of the Cadiz Capuchins, together with a large number of pictures made at different times for the Cathedral of Seville or other churches and many devotional works for private individuals.

It was said that the artist died in poverty. This is contradicted by the fact of the many commissions he had had; more close to the truth is the version that he gave away his money as charitable contributions to the religious organizations of which he was the member. The story about Murillo’s death sounds a little apocryphal: Murrilo had accepted a commission from the Capuchin church in Cadiz. For the first time in his life he went to decorate a church in another city. While working on the Marriage of St. Catherine (1682) Murillo fell from the scaffold, he was brought back to his native Seville in critical condition, where he soon died, on April 13, 1682. After his death he left very modest private property, but many pupils and innumerable followers. His works influenced later Spanish painting and anticipated 18th-century European Rococo painting.

Above is his painting “Return of the Prodigal Son” 1667-70 (Oil on canvas, 236 x 262 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington). The Prodigal Son, also known as the Lost Son, is one of the best-known parables of Jesus. It appears only in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Bible. By tradition, it is usually read on the third Sunday of Lent.

The parable relates the story of a father who has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance before the father dies, and the father agrees. The younger son, after wasting his fortune (the word ‘prodigal’ means ‘wastefully extravagant’), goes hungry during a famine, and becomes so destitute he longs to eat the same food given to hogs, unclean animals in Jewish culture. He then returns home with the intention of repenting and begging his father to be one of his hired servants, expecting his relationship with his father is likely severed. Regardless, the father finds him on the road and immediately welcomes him back as his son and holds a feast to celebrate his return, which includes killing a fattened calf usually reserved for special occasions. The older son refuses to participate, stating that in all the time he has worked for the father, he never disobeyed him; yet, he did not even receive a goat to celebrate with his friends. The father reminds the older son that the son has always been with him and everything the father has is the older son’s (his inheritance). But, they should still celebrate the return of the younger son because he was lost and is now found.

The father of the parable is an illustration of the Heavenly Father. God waits patiently, with loving compassion to restore us when we return to him with humble hearts. He offers us everything in his kingdom, restoring full relationship with joyful celebration. He doesn’t dwell on our past waywardness, provided our repentance is genuine.

Happy Father’s Day!

MUSIC SATURDAY - ZDENEK FIBICH

“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.” - Napoleon Bonaparte

Zdenek Fibich (1850-1950) is the third of the so-called “Big Three” of 19th century Czech composers (the other two being Smetana and Dvorak). That Fibich is not as well known as the other two is not because his music was in any way inferior, but simply because he lived during a time of extreme national consciousness and unlike Dvorak and Smetana, he did not choose only to write in a purely Czech idiom. Although his music exhibits Slavic elements, it is rather more typically Central European in sound. This reflects his background. One of his parents was Czech, the other an Austrian German. His education was at both Czech and German schools. 

He studied at the famous Leipzig Conservatory then spent a year in Paris. Hence Fibich, in contrast to either Dvorak or Smetana, was the product of two cultures, German and Czech. His instrumental works are generally in the vein of the German romantics such as Mendelssohn, Schumann and Wagner.

Here is a Quintet, which dates from 1893, performed by the Ensemble Villa Musica. This is one of the most original sounding chamber music works because of the unusual tone colour effects that Fibich creates. Clearly, in its original version for piano, winds and strings, the nature of the instruments, by themselves alone, creates the stunning and rich effects. Because of the unusual combination of instruments Fibich selected for the original version, his publisher, knowing not many copies would be sold, asked for a version for standard piano quintet. This he produced and yet, such was Fibich’s genius, that it in no way sounds like an arrangement and often even gives the feeling of being an altogether separate composition. The version for standard piano quintet benefited immeasurably because Fibich strove hard to maintain the wonderful tone colour of the original.

The main theme to first movement, Allegro non tanto, is warm-hearted and presents a colourful reflection on the peacefulness of nature with a somewhat rustling quality in the background. There is a brief orchestral call to attention before the music seamlessly drifts away. The second movement, Largo, has for its main subject a melody which is serene and dignified but also capable of tremendous passion. A Schubertian Scherzo, with two trios comes next. Fibich gives the instruction “to be played with wild humour”. The finale, Allegro con spirito, is bright, joyous and festive.

I. Allegro Non Tanto - 00:00

II. Largo - 10:10

III. Scherzo - 20:15

IV. Finale - Allegro Con Spirito - 27:16

FOOD FRIDAY - BEAN SOUP

“Beans are such a nice, neutral canvas, you can make a big, basic pot of them and then play around with them differently every day.” - Crescent Dragonwagon

Here is a hearty bean soup from Greece, perfect for Spring or Autumn (depending on which Hemisphere you live in!).

Bean Soup
Ingredients

2 cups butter beans
1 potato
1 large onion
3 sticks of tender celery with its leaves
2 carrots
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2  teaspoon marjoram
1 bay leaf
4 cups stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, pepper

Method
Soak butter beans overnight, drain and cook in fresh water until soft. Drain and reserve the beans.
Chop the carrots, celery, onion and potato. Sauté the onion in the oil then add the vegetables and tomatoes. Cook until the celery has wilted.
Add the beans and herbs, and the stock and bring to the boil.
Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve hot with crusty bread.

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AT THE PARKLANDS

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” - Albert Einstein

We live close to a magnificent natural reserve within metropolitan Melbourne, the Darebin Parklands, which straddle Alphington and Ivanhoe, approximately 10 kilometres northeast of the City of Melbourne. This reserve is a district park covering an area of 33 hectares. Darebin Creek flows through the Parklands, to join the Yarra River, at Alphington.

The Darebin Parklands are highly regarded for its social, recreation, education, conservation, water quality management, cultural and heritage values. The Parklands have a rich history as the homeland of the Wurundjeri Willam people and for cattle and sheep grazing, orchard and market garden use post European settlement. The southern section of the Darebin Parklands was developed as a bluestone quarry in 1890 and following the closure of the quarry in 1965, the land was leased to the Northcote Council as a municipal garbage tip which reached its capacity by 1975.

In the 1970’s the site was marked as a potential freeway or an area for industrial or residential development. Following this classification, local residents moved to protect the area and in 1973, formed the Rockbeare Park Conservation Group. The group pushed for the acquisition of land on the Alphington side and in 1975 the Whitlam Government funded the purchase of land for the park (thank you, Gough!). A management committee was formed which included both adjoining Councils and community representatives.

In 2001, the Darebin Parklands Committee of Management joined the Darebin Creek Co- ordinating Committee to form the Darebin Creek Management Committee. The Darebin Parkland’s rich history has contributed greatly to it being such a special and highly valued place today.The Darebin Parklands is a stunning example of regenerated bushland, with indigenous vegetation, and native animals like echidna, lizards, snakes, possums, flying foxes and more than fifty bird species. The biodiversity of the Darebin Creek is not obvious at first. Walking along the creek the signs of careful planting by the rangers and Friends of Darebin Parklands becomes obvious with healthy clumps of native grasses and blooming wattles. The Parklands are a beautiful green, open space close to the City and al the better for us as they are within walking distance of our home.

POETS UNITED - WATERSHED MOMENT

“Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.” - Richard Bach

This week, PoetsUnited has as its Midweek Motif the concept of “Watersheds”. The challenge to participants is to: “Describe a watershed moment in your life…” – Here is my contribution.

Mirage

I glimpsed you but for an instant
In the midst of throbbing crowds
And you were lost,
Just like a frightened bird
Scared into flight.

Your after-image is burnt indelibly,
Branded, as though with red-hot iron,
On the clear vellum of my memory.
Were it that I never met with you again,
And keep forever that image of your perfection…

Perhaps you were illusory
And all my yearning eyes beheld
Was a mirage,
A mere reflection
Of my every hope.

And yet, if only I could see you once again,
I would rejoice in your reality.
To hope that you would look for me is vain,
But if I could only gaze into your eyes
Once more, but for a moment,
And for that brief, elusive moment
Make believe that we two share all.

HAPPY SOUTHERN SPRING!

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” - Hal Borland

Today our calendar in the Southern Hemisphere marked the first day of Spring. The weather in Melbourne was absolutely glorious with sunshine, blue skies and a maximum temperature of 18˚C. It was a pleasure to shed some layers of clothing and go out walking and enjoying the fragrance of the jasmine and the pittosporum, the bright colours of the Spring bulb flowers and the blossom on the fruit trees.

Look at these beautiful Spring flowers in our garden and neighbourhood and if these are not enough here are some more!

It looks like the great weather will continue tomorrow, so more walks to enjoy the great outdoors. Winter seemed very long and harsh this year (although Melbourne does have very mild Winters, I know). In any case I am glad that the temperatures are climbing, that the sun is showing his face more and that the days are getting longer.

Here is Beethoven’s Violin Sonata.No.5, Op24 the “Spring Sonata”, with Anne Sophie Mutter (violin) and Lambert Orkis (piano).

MOVIE MONDAY - CALL THE MIDWIFE

“Each day is a little life: Every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.” - Arthur Schopenhauer

We have just finished watching the first two seasons (2012-13) of the excellent BBC TV series “Call the Midwife”. The screenplay by Heidi Thomas is based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs: “Call the Midwife”, later called “Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s”, is the first in a trilogy of books describing Worth’s work as a district nurse and midwife in the East End of London during the 1950s. Worth wrote the book after retiring from a subsequent career as a musician, and it was originally published in 2002. Reissued in 2007, it became a bestseller, as did the sequel “Shadows of the Workhouse” (2005, reissued 2008) and the final volume “Farewell to the East End” (2009). By the time of Jennifer Worth’s death in June 2011, her books had already sold almost a million copies.

The story of the series follows twenty-two year old Jenny Lee, who in 1957 leaves her comfortable home to become a midwife in London’s East End, one of the poorest districts of the metropolis. She is surprised to find that she will be living in a convent, Nonnatus House. Working alongside fellow nurses and the medically-trained nuns, Jenny has her eyes opened to the harsh living conditions of the slums, but she also discovers the warm hearts and the bravery of the mothers. Even after Jenny leaves Nonnatus, she continues to chronicle the lives of the midwives who have become her family.

The casting is perfect and Jessica Raine as Jenny Lee, shines as the inexperienced midwife who gains knowledge, skill, wisdom and maturity through her association with the nuns and fellow midwives, but most of all, the ordinary people of the East End. Helen George as the attractive, vivacious Trixie does well with her role as a “modern and fashionable” young nurse, while Miranda Hart as the tall, ungainly and awkward Chummy is both likeable and believable in her fish out of the water role. Jenny Agutter as the Mother Superior plays in a faultless, understated fashion and her immense acting experience really comes through. The rest of the cast is also exceptional, while the costumes and sets are up to the usual wonderful BBC period drama standards.

The real success of the series is the stories. Each episode deals with a variety of themes, which are replete with humanity at its best and worst. There are moments of high drama and heart-wrenching poignancy, there is humour, grit and sensitivity. The scenes of childbirth are sensitively done, but are also realistic and in some cases quite confronting. However, the whole is tastefully done and quite enthralling. One familiar with the books may balk a little as the screenplay has elaborated the anecdotes of the books. Some of the diversions from the book are to allow the characters other than Jenny Lee to have stronger story lines, which works well for TV. Some of the story lines have been expanded and enhanced for dramatic effect, so they are not relying strictly upon the original author’s memoirs, but rather the imagination of the scriptwriters. Once again this is understandable, given the medium of TV.

This series is entertaining, engaging, utterly watchable and most enjoyable. It proves that if a TV series deals with topics of general interest, has real characters and situations that display ordinary humans trying to make sense of the complicated and messy thing that we call life, it succeeds on multiple levels and makes for satisfying viewing. I recommend this most highly to anyone who wants to not only be entertained, but who also wants to learn a little of the history of mid-20th century London and also of the lives of midwives. We look forward to seeing the rest of the seasons (up to Season 5 in 2016!).

ART SUNDAY - WILLIAM DOBELL

“Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend.” - John Singer Sargent

The Australian artist Sir William Dobell (1899-1970) was one of the world’s leading modern portraitists. His best portraits revealed an intimate perception of the sitter and an extraordinary psychological insight.

William Dobell was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, on Sept. 24, 1899. He moved to Sydney in 1925 to study at the Julian Ashton Art School. In 1929 he went to London on a travelling scholarship to study at the Slade School, where he won prizes for draughtsmanship and painting. Later he exhibited at the Royal Academy and before the New English Group.

Dobell returned to Sydney in 1939. He maintained a subjective approach to painting, and his work was very different from that of the then current Australian styles. In 1943 he won the Archibald Prize, Australia's principal award for portraiture, for a painting of fellow-artist Joshua Smith. The award was immediately challenged on the grounds that Dobell’s entry showed a degree of distortion which made it a “caricature” rather than a “true portrait”, but the court upheld the judging panel’s decision. Resultant newspaper publicity greatly expanded interest in Dobell’s work, but as a result of the controversy Dobell withdrew to Wangi, a small coastal town north of Sydney, and became a shy and enigmatic figure.

Gentle by nature, Dobell was also shrewd, warm, and strong in feeling, and these characteristics shone through his work. He was intensely interested in his fellow man. He achieved some of his effects by deft underscoring of aspects that typified the subject’s character, and others by sharp delineation of exciting and unusual features of the subject. 

Dobell was also a notable landscapist. He painted local scenes, views of Southeast Asia, and a series of cameos capturing the strangeness of New Guinea. He belonged to no school but acknowledged inspiration from Rembrandt, William Hogarth, Pierre Auguste Renoir, and Chaim Soutine. Dobell gained numerous significant awards and received many commissions, among them four for portraits for use as Time magazine cover subjects, including one of Australian prime minister Robert Menzies in 1960. Exhibitions of his work attracted exceptionally widespread attendance; and a sale in Sydney in 1962 realised record prices for an Australian artist. He was knighted in 1966 and died in Wangi on May 14, 1970.

One of his most famous portraits is that of Helena Rubinstein. Rubinstein was a Polish/Jewish-born cosmetics entrepreneur, who had a good eye for niche marketing as much as for men who were able to support financially her growing enterprise and social ambitions (one of her husbands was a prince). She was also a well-known philanthropist, who established a travelling fellowship at the Art Gallery of New South Wales enabling a number of young aspiring Australian artists to travel and study overseas.

Dobell’s portrait is grand and bold, much like the woman herself. The almost garish colour, the extravagant jewellery and patterned dress, the haughty look remind one of old master portraits of queens or noblewomen. The artist strove to combine the individuality of the sitter with the creation of a character stereotype (that some would call a “caricature”). He painted Rubinstein at least eight times, and in a later portrait of Helena seated in a green interior Dobell captured her as the personification a genteel grand dame she purported to be, rather than a vision of a formidable personality, over-emphasised vanity, and exaggerated femininity that comes forth from this striking and highly individualised portrait.