An old friend told me this week that he is taking an evening course at the Slade School of Fine Art but The Faultless Painter doesn’t refer to him. It is the title of a poem by Robert Browning about the Renaissance artist, Andrea del Sarto.
The poem is a dramatic monologue that you might like to read later, as it is quite long and demands concentration. It explores, rather tenderly, the nature of art and life, drawing the reader into del Sarto’s life, his relationship with his wife, other artists and how he paints. It is a kaleidoscope of complex imagery and emotions. You may only half-remember it but one phrase from it you will know.
“Well, less is more, Lucrezia….”
This phrase, taken up by minimalist architects like Mies van der Rohe, has a wide application. Cartoonists convey a lot in a few lines. Here is a self-portrait by Mark Boxer (Marc).
My grandmother’s recipe for cooking snipe is relevant. Use the bill to skewer the snipe’s legs to its breast. Fill a deep metal bowl with cooking oil, place it on the hob and when it is hot lower in the snipe, hanging them by their feet around the rim. When cooked, eat a little raw onion and breathe on them. Any closer contact with the onion would impair their delicate flavour she maintained. Less is more.
The same principle applies to the addition of Martini to a Dry Martini and many other aspects of life where understatement proves more effective than over-egging the pudding. In making a Dry Martini the restraint must be in the quantity of Martini used, the gin should be added liberally. Especially in writing blogs, less is more.
Let’s end with another poem by Browning, which will be familiar to readers of PG Wodehouse. It is called Pippa’s Song.
THE year ‘s at the spring,
And day ‘s at the morn;
Morning ‘s at seven;
The hill-side ‘s dew-pearl’d;
The lark ‘s on the wing;
The snail ‘s on the thorn;
God ‘s in His heaven—
All ‘s right with the world!
Excellent. But surely your mother got someone else to eat the onion and breath on it? Otherwise her enjoyment of the bird would have been impaired.
Did your old friend buy you an acceptable bottle of wine on Thursday night or did you have to encourage him to go further down the list?
You are correct, my grandmother enjoyed gardening more than cooking. The ony thing I ever saw her cook was Yorkshire pudding.
I had Steak Diane on Thursday and my host’s choice of a red Rhone was a good match.