Parmigianino, born girolamo francesco maria mazzola in parma, italy, became italys most influential mannerist painter in his brief. John ashbery reads selfportrait in a convex mirror. The poetics of vision and the redemption of the subject in john. It is accompanied here by a number of shorter pieces playful, witty, elusive. Selfportrait in a convex mirror as parmigianino did it, the right hand bigger than the head, thrust at the viewer and swerving easily away, as though to protect what it advertises.
Although the stature of john ashbery as a leading american poet had already been established by collections such as the tennis court oath 1962 and the double dream of spring 1970, the poems in selfportrait in a convex mirror 1975 helped change the critical perception about ashberys contribution to american poetry. One of the most significant poetic achievements of our time, john ashberys selfportrait in a convex mirror was awarded the pulitzer prize, the national book award and the national book critics circle award upon its publication in 1976. John ashberry won the pulitzer prize, the national book award, and the national book critics circle award for selfportrait in a convex mirror. The long title poem, a meditation on parmigianinos famous selfportrait, has become ashberys bestknown poem. Self portrait in a convex mirror by ashbery abebooks. Selfportrait in a convex mirror article pdf available. Selfportrait in a convex mirror is a long poem in free verse, its 552 lines divided into six verse paragraphs of unequal length. Self portrait in a convex mirror is def my favorite poem.
Selfportrait in a convex mirror c152324, parmigianino. In 1976, ashbery won the pulitzer prize for his collection, selfportrait in a convex mirror. A ray passing through the focus of a concave mirror or proceeding toward the focus of a. Parmigianinos selfportrait in a convex mirror 1524, painted when he was barely twentyone, plays cleverly with a convex mirrors ability to offer a distorted.
It was thought by the great 16thcentury biographer vasari in the first version of his life of the painter, written about 30 years after parmigianinos death, that it may have been. Selfportrait in a convex mirror questions and answers. Parmigianinos selfportrait in a convex mirror factum foundation. Storka and yasuo furuichib aricoh innovations, 2882 sand hill road suite 115, menlo park ca 94025 usa and department of statistics, stanford university, stanford ca 94305 usa.
Children may do that and go home with marked up faces. Selfportrait in a convex mirror background gradesaver. Selfportrait in a convex mirror is a title that has a double identity. Selfportrait in a convex mirror francesco mazzola, called. This new book continues his astonishing explorations of places where no one has ever been.
The question and answer section for selfportrait in a convex mirror is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Poems penguin poets john ashbery on free shipping on qualifying offers. It is a long poem about standing in a museum and looking at a drawing from 1524 by parmigianino. Self portrait in a convex mirror is a 1975 poetry collection by the american writer john ashbery.
There are two kind of a curved mirror, the concave and the convex mirrors. Selfportrait in a convex mirrorwas the first of john ashberys books to be published in britain by carcanet, and this is its third printing. In self portrait in a convex mirror we get the impression that the artist is the hero of the piece and that the painting celebrates his youthful talent. Selfportrait in a convex mirror by john ashbery poetry.
Parmigianinos direct gaze holds the viewers attention and the light literally falls on and illuminates the artist. Francesco himself, being of very beautiful countenance and more like an angel than a man, his portrait on the ball seemed a thing divine, and the work altogether was a happy success, having all the lustre of the glass, with every reflection and the light and shade so. Selfportrait in a convex mirror belongs primarily to his middle period. This artist, who came from parma, is considered one of the most progressive painters in the 1st half of the 16th century in upper italy, parmigianinos wor. It is accompanied here by a number of shorter pieces. Lottos husband and wife, van eycks portrait of arnolfini and his wife, and other paintings. The title refers to a 1524 painting by the italian artist.
The self portrait in a convex mirror community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. An exploration of the self through the exploration of the self by another, a play on historical selves, on art, on how life engages us with others, on how we build our own sense of identity. Self portrait in a convex mirror was a watershed book for ashbery because it is somewhat more accessible than his earlier avantgarde books. Parmigianino is portrayed as contemplative but there is also an emphasis placed on his hand and it is this.
His selfportrait in a convex mirror is one such subtle dialogue in which the. The title poem is often listed among the finest achievements in. One of the most significant poetic achievements of our time, john ashberys self portrait in a convex mirror was awarded the pulitzer prize, the national book award and the national book critics circle award upon its publication in 1976. Selfportrait in a convex mirror, 1984, arion press, san francisco, author.
To take his own portrait, looking at himself from that purpose in a convex mirror, such as is used by barbers. Description of the book selfportrait in a convex mirror. A computer graphics reconstruction of the artists studio david g. I own this edition of the work and it has held up well with multiple readings, both the actual paperback, and the text. Selfportrait in a convex mirror is a poem about identity and time, especially about the elusiveness of the present. The guardian calls self portrait in a convex mirror, a densely written epic about art, time and consciousness that was inspired by the 16th century italian painting of the same name. The guardian calls selfportrait in a convex mirror, a densely written epic about art, time and consciousness that was inspired by the 16th century italian painting of the same name.
John ashberry won the pulitzer prize, the national book award, and the national book critics circle award for self portrait in a convex mirror. Selfportrait in a convex mirror is a 1975 poetry collection by the american writer john ashbery. Francesco mazzola, called parmigianino date created. I know it sounds basic, but sometimes a misplaced word can cause great difficulties. John ashberys selfportrait in a convex mirror pdxscholar. The depths ashbery reaches to deal with this artwork, though. The runaway critical success of the collectionselfportrait in a convex mirror transformed ashberys career from being merely one of the leading figures of the more avantgarde new york school of poets that rose to prominence during the 1950s and 1960s into a major figure. In 1976, ashbery won the pulitzer prize for his collection, self portrait in a convex mirror. Francesco mazzola, called parmigianino selfportrait in a convex mirror transparent. Pope clement and his court were stupefied by it, according to vasari, and promised a commission. Self portrait in a convex mirror as parmigianino did it, the right hand bigger than the head, thrust at the viewer and swerving easily away, as though to protect what it advertises. Parmigianinos selfportrait in a convex mirror, video at. Self portrait in a convex mirror poem by john ashbery. He accordingly caused a ball of wood to be made by a turner, and having divided it in half and brought it to the size of the mirror, he set himself with great art to copy all that he saw in the glass, chiefly his reflection, of which the portrait is.
As parmigianino did it the right handbigger than the head thrust at the viewerand swerving easily away as though to protect. A ray passing through the focus of a concave mirror or proceeding toward the focus of a convex mirror is reflected parallel to mirror axis. Selfportrait in a convex mirror was a watershed book for ashbery because it is somewhat more accessible than his earlier avantgarde books. Description of the book self portrait in a convex mirror. Re ections on parmigianinos self portrait in a convex mirror. Selfportrait in a convex mirror c152324, parmigianino jonathan jones. Self portrait in a convex mirror was awarded the pulitzer prize, a national book award and the national book critics circle award. In brief, hockney and falco claim that a concave mirror was used to project an image of the models or objects onto a canvas or other surface, which was then traced or painted over by the artist. Selfportrait in a convex mirror poem text gradesaver.
The mannerist painter parmigianino painted his selfportrait in a convex mirror in 1524 when he was 21 years of age in fact, he may have been slightly younger. Elf portrait in a convex mirror is a title that has a double identity. Convex mirrors have reflective surfaces that curve outward. The selfportrait in a convex mirror community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and. A ray parallel to mirror axis passes through the focal point of a concave mirror or appears to come from the focal point of a convex mirror. Of the mirror being convex, the distance increases significantly. The long title poem, a meditation on parmigianinos famous self portrait, has become ashberys bestknown poem. Self portrait in a convex mirror, 1984, arion press, san francisco, author. Selfportrait in a convex mirror is certainly one of the most sustained performances in american writing. Ashberys selfportrait in a convex mirror lee edelman selfportrait in a convex mirror.
Selfportrait in a convex mirror autorretrato en espejo. It, of course, famously won many awards, including the pulitzer prize for poetry. See more ideas about portrait, photography and mirror photography. An exploration of the self through the exploration of the self by another, a play on historical selves, on art, on how life engages us with others, on. Media in category selfportrait in a convex mirror by parmigianino the following 6 files are in this category, out of 6 total. In selfportrait in a convex mirror we get the impression that the artist is the hero of the piece and that the painting celebrates his youthful talent. A few leaded panes, old beams, fur, pleated muslin, a coral ring run together in a movement supporting the face, which swims toward and away like the hand.
Above, you can hear him read the title poem, his masterpiece. The book won the pulitzer prize, the national book award, and the national book critics circle award, the only book to have received all three awards. In brief, hockney and falco claim that a concave mirror was used to project an image of the models or objects onto a canvas or other surface, which. In this lesson, learn about the types of images that can be formed by a convex mirror and some of the uses of convex mirrors. The work is mentioned by late renaissance art biographer giorgio vasari, who lists it as one of three smallsize paintings that the artist brought to rome with him in 1525. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the us or from the uk, depending on stock availability. This preoccupation animates everything he writes, and what he writes is some of the best poetry of our day.
Selfportrait in a convex mirror memphis brooks museum. The differences between parmigianinos selfportrait in paint and. Concave converging mirror it is a curved mirror in which the reflective. Avoid saying something like, look in the mirror and draw on your face. Ashberry reaffirms the poetic powers that have made him such an outstanding figure in contemporary literature. I need to make a mirror image of pdf file so i can have it printed on a large format printer. Concepts of self and soul in ashberys self portrait in. Kitaj, and jane freilicher, four lithographs, one offset lithograph, one woodcut, one etching with aquatint, one photogravure with hand additions, and one record. The title, shared with its final poem, comes from the painting of the same name by the late renaissance artist parmigianino. Selfportrait in a convex mirror was awarded the pulitzer prize, a national book award and the national book critics circle award.
Jan 17, 2003 self portrait in a convex mirror c152324, parmigianino jonathan jones. The book won all three of the major prizes awarded to collections by american poets. Always stress that children should draw on the mirror. John ashbery, more than any other contemporary, is the poet of the momentary, the transitory. Best is to have it done back in the authoring file and then create a fresh pdf. Written in a style often described as verbal expressionism, self portrait in a convex mirror is the title poem in the collection for which john ashbery won a. Re ections on parmigianinos self portrait in a convex. This artist, who came from parma, is considered one of the most progressive painters in the 1st half of the 16th century in upper italy, parmigianinos work provides a transition from the renaissance to mannerism, and the effects of his delicate and extravagant formal language were still being felt in the art of rudolf iis court in prague ca. Self portrait in a convex mirrorwas awarded the pulitzer prize, a national book award and the national book critics circle award. Parmigianino presented this selfportrait, painted on a convex wooden surface, along with two other smallformat works to pope clement vii. Selfportrait in a convex mirror poem by john ashbery.
A spoon is a kind of a curved mirror with both concave and convex surfaces. Self portrait in a convex mirror belongs primarily to his middle period. As a sample, this argument is to be investigated in a long postmodern poem, selfportrait in a convex mirror, composed by the american poet, john ashbery. Self portrait in a convex mirror article pdf available. Each mirror has a radius of curvature r which is in. Ashberys self portrait in a convex mirror lee edelman self portrait in a convex mirror. It is housed in the kunsthistorisches museum, vienna, austria. From the latin speculum, mirror they seek and cannot find the meaning of the music. The title poem, ashberys masterpiece, is, on one level accessible to read.