Visit to an Artist

This poem may be describing the speaker's actual visit to the artist´s house or it may be depicting a close observation of the artist´s pictures, and therefore a metaphorical visit to him through his paintings. In fact, the first stanza, may be read as the description of a real room or as the description of the picture “The Terrace” by David Jones, the artist to whom the poem is dedicated:

“The Terrace” by David Jones

Stanza 1

Window upon the wall, a balcony
With a light chair, the air and water so
Mingled you could not say which was the sun
And which the adamant yet tranquil spray.

The first phrase of the poem (“Window upon the wall”) can be read at three different levels. First, it may be describing the real window in the artist´s house if we consider the poem is retelling an actual visit. Secondly, it may be a reference to the window that appears in the picture “The Terrace”, if we think that the speaker is metaphorically visiting the artist through an  examination of his pictures,  or, thirdly,  it can also be a metaphor for the painting (“The Terrace”) on the wall. This last reading implies that, in the speaker´s view, the work of art is a window that enables to see a different point of view and opens to a new world: that of  the artist’s  perspective. In contrast, the word “wall” reminds us of the limits of the persona´s own views.  Besides, in the first line,  the word “balcony” also conveys the idea of openness. A balcony connects inner and outer spaces , and at a metaphorical level, it suggests the communion between the inner world of the speaker and the one created by the artist.

In the persona´s detailed picture of the scene,  other elements are also connected and blended: the air and water are so “mingled”   that  the rays of sun cannot been distinguished from the spray of water. The blurred outlines of air and water are evidently the product of the effect of light either at the time of the visit or in its representation in the painting. We feel that so much emphasis on the idea of connection in the initial description of the poem (“window”, “balcony”, “air and water” “mingled”) paves the way for the visit, as a visit implies connection between visitor and visited.

The spray of the sea is described as “adamant” and “tranquil”.  These two contrasting words suggest the strength and persistence of the spray, which would not fade away, but also the calmness of the scene.

But nothing was confused and nothing slow:
Each way you looked, always the sea, the sea.

Even if many elements are connected or mingled in the scene that is being depicted, their own essence is still clear. As for the sense of calmness transmitted by the previous lines, the persona makes it clear that it does not imply lack of life or dullness: “(...)nothing was slow”

The last line of the stanza emphasises the vastness of the sea and the absence of ground. The sibilance at the end imitates the relaxing sound of the sea and the repetition stresses its uninterrupted nature.

Stanza 2
And every shyness that we brought with us
Was drawn into the pictures on the walls.

The people in the poem could have been in an uncomfortable situation because of their shyness, but that is not the case; their shyness does not show because they are focusing on the pictures.

The pronoun “we” can refer either to  the persona and the artist, if we read the poem as an actual visit,  or to the speaker and a companion, who are looking at the pictures in a museum  or an art gallery, or even to the speaker and  all people who are there, observing the paintings, and thus paying a metaphorical visit to the artist.

Besides, the phrase “pictures on the wall” reminds us of the initial words of the poem: “Window upon the wall”, and thus reinforces the possibility -that we have already mentioned- of equating pictures and windows.

It was so good to sit quite still and lose
Necessity of discourse, words to choose
And wonder which were honest and which false.

Looking at the pictures seems to replace conversation in a  way that is satisfactory for the speaker. All communication is carried out through the pictures. The sibilance suggests the silent and calm atmosphere of the room. There is no need of speech, and that is positive in the persona´s view because it is a way to do away with the falsehood of discourse.There is no need to weigh the speaker´s or the receiver´s words.

Third Stanza

Then I remembered words that you had said
Of art as gesture and as sacrament,

The silent enjoyment of the pictures brings back what the speaker had commented on art as a means of communication. In these lines, language reappears but only as a memory and only to describe art as a powerful form of expression. This description can only be  done through a succession of similes and metaphors, as literal language seems to fall short to depict such an overwhelming experience.

Art is described as “gesture” and as “sacrament”. It is a gesture because it resembles paralinguistic forms of communication, as it has no need of words. It is a sacrament because  it allows you to feel the presence of God, and to experience a spiritual moment.

A mountain under the calm form of paint

Art is also “a mountain” according to what the artist said. A mountain is huge, important and imposing, and it also allows a different perspective because of its height. In this way, we may think that this metaphor is related to words such as “ window” in the first stanza, which also alludes to vantage point. The word “calm” reinforces the idea that art communicates in a quiet way, which was already suggested in previous lines.

Much like the Presence under wine and bread –

Art is also compared to the Presence of God in Eucharist as both taking communion and enjoying a picture are moments of fulfillment, ecstasy and spirituality.

Art with its largesse and its own restraint.

The last line is paradoxical, as it describes two apparently contradictory qualities of art: “largesse” and “restraint”. In our view, “largesse” refers to the generosity and liberality with which art communicates emotions, feelings, and ideas. On the other hand, it does so in a restrained way, i.e. not only within the limits of the canvas, but also without the excess and the overexplicitness of language.

To sum up, if the poem describes a real visit, it is one that is carried out in a special way. The visitor and the artist do not engage in conversation, but spend time watching the pictures in the room. On the other hand, if the poem is read as a metaphorical visit to an artist, i. e. through an examination of his pictures, it describes the moment of rapture in which all attention is drawn into them, and conversation is abandonned. In both cases, the visit offers the speaker an opportunity to reflect on the

powerful way in which art communicates.

Iara Ceriale, Catalina Humphreys,Lucila Torres, Natasha Wodovosoff, Sol Lindon, Antonella Carlotto, Delfina García, Wendy Hortis, Micaela Ferreyra, Rodrigo Ovejero.