As I explained in my first post, "Exploring the Public Domain," I'm adding in slight detours as I go along with my weekly posted translations. This week, two artists and their work were mentioned early on in Chapter 1: Kate Greenaway and Gustave Courtois's Hercules at the Feet of Omphale.
In the scene where Suzy goes to retrieve her hat from the lime tree, she is described as appearing "simply delightful with her thin brown head buried in an immense hat worthy of a Kate Greenaway vignette" (Nissen). I looked at several different pieces of work from Kate Greenaway and decided that this solitary young woman from Greenaway's book Marigold Garden (1885) to be a simple depiction of what Suzy may have looked like, but perhaps a year or two older since she is eighteen in Suzy's Dream.
Perhaps you sense a familiarity with Greenaway's work, since she is best known for her children's book illustrations. I recognize imitations of her paintings from old children's books my stepdad would buy at dusty estate sales and library sales that I read in my childhood. Since Greenaway was an avid reader of old fairy tales, such as "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," and "Beauty and the Beast," it comes as no surprise that when she began her studies to learn the decorative arts at the age of twelve that she gravitated to a more ethereal and bucolic style.
As a child growing up in London, Greenaway would revisit in her paintings the pureness and simplicity of country life she once visited as a child. Her father was an engraver who struck out on his own and Kate enjoyed watching him. Engaging with her imaginary world, observing her father's profession, and wishing for life in the country played into her eventually learning drawing, porcelain painting, wood engraving, and lithography. She also benefited from the explosion of the lucrative card market in the 1860s.
The other piece of art mentioned in Chapter 1 is Gustave Courtois's Hercules at the Feet of Omphale (1912). Or I should say Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois. Unlike Kate Greenaway, Courtois was a French artist but creating his work at much the same time Greenaway was creating hers. Glancing through some of his paintings, he seemed drawn to the mythical side of the art world with works like Dante and Virgil in Hell, Persée Délivrant Andromède, and Diana. He also painted several portraits throughout his career.
Born in France and raised by a devoted, unwed mother, Courtois exhibited an interest in art early on in life. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Later he taught painting at Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Académie Colarossi in Paris. If you're interested in seeing his art displayed in museums, then you can find them in Besançon, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Luxembourg. There are other singular pieces exhibited at other museums throughout the world like Narcisse at the Getty.
In Suzy's Dream, Monsieur Arnay describes the young men playing tennis with and spending time with the young ladies, “Like Hercules at the feet of Omphale!” I believe he means to say that there is a level of adoration going on; one that we could draw from the image above. What do you think?
On a final note, I'd like to point out that it may seem unusual that Henri Ardel pulls her description for Suzy from a British artist. Knowing the direction of this book and the fact that Ardel embeds British characters important to the storyline in her story, then I think she's definitely on track for using other bits of British info throughout. Perhaps she enjoyed British culture. I don't know. Continue along with me as we explore more characters and artwork in Suzy's Dream!
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