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April 21, 2021

Ekphrastic April, Day 21: "Self-portrait with Green Background and Blue Irises"

 


"Self-portrait with Green Background and Blue Irises" (circa 1905) by Paula Modersohn-Becker [1876-1907].

 

portrait with green background

in 1905 she thought she'd
have many more irises to paint

but death hid grinning in
the foliage--he knew she
had only two springs more

 

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

6 comments:

  1. I came here from reading the poem of the day at Poets.org (Dobby Gibson's) and I'm struck by the resonance of yours and his. And always this in my mind: "and since to look at things in bloom/fifty springs is little room..." We never know when it will be our last.

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    1. And how many of us considered that spring 2020 might have been the last we saw? I know it crossed my mind.

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  2. It's always so personal to see a self-portrait. I look and look to see if I can see what they see. It's a somber note about death knowing more than we do.

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    1. I looking for women artists I found that a good number of them died young. If prejudice against creative women's creative spirits wasn't enough to kill a career, then women's health issues finished them off.

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  3. only two springs more...despite that plea in green.

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  4. Do I see sadness in this portrait? Life is fragile and uncertain.

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