Great Gatsbys! A Renoir on the grass, alas. & too much incorporated in the painting to contain it all. Things escape, many of those the appurtances of a dandy — wine glass, rose to carry in the teeth, some etchings to come up & look at sometime. Some things held on to — hat to keep the sun out, or keep the tan from overflowing, & gloves to stroke the mustache with. &, OMG, brogues that exactly match the color of the frame.
Exotic birds perch on the veins of a leaf. Such beauty in them, but they are so small — or maybe the leaf is large, larger than the trees below the window. The birds do not appear to be hungry. The leaf is intact. & there seems to be plenty of water to go round. A fairly full glass balances on the ledge. & should the glass fall there is still that river nearby, within flying distance, even if the outside is outside their view.
It's probably something I learnt from — copied from? — Magritte, the giving of titles that bear no relation to the item in question, whether it be poem or painting. Here he lines up abstract shapes, inserts a table — not of con- tents but rather something you'd find in a hallway — & parks them in front of a barely- discernable background that would later be developed across the years into what would come to be described as a typical Magritte land- scape, then titles the painting with a name that apparently has no resemblance to what is going on within its confines. Ernst describes it as a collage painted by hand. I'd agree: but also see in it a statement of future intent — never be im- prisoned by the fear of change.
