In an Artist’s Studio
One face looks out from all his canvases,
One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans:
We found her hidden just behind those screens,
That mirror gave back all her loveliness.
A queen in opal or in ruby dress,
A nameless girl in freshest summer-greens,
A saint, an angel — every canvas means
The same one meaning, neither more or less.
He feeds upon her face by day and night,
And she with true kind eyes looks back on him,
Fair as the moon and joyful as the light:
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.
Mood
A playful or restless mood of someone who cannot settle.
Structure
The rhyme scheme of the poem is abbaabbacdcdcd, marking the poem as a
Petrarchan sonnet, which is apt for a number of reasons, but chiefly because the
Petrarchan form is associated with the medieval idea of courtly love, whereby the
male poet admires from afar the beautiful woman.
About the poem
Contrasts the literal and figurative meaning s of paintings, women and even poetry.
the poet discusses whether 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' or whether art gives
us a true likeness or an idealistic image. the playful mood of the poem is achieved
through the use of contrasting use of words and images. Both the artist and the
subject are portrayed as worthy of devotion. the classical tradition of painting has
portrayed men as the painters and women as the subjects.
Line 1
The speaker begins the poem by describing what the inside of an artist’s studio looks
like. From where she is standing she can look around, and take in each canvas that
she sees as well as the way the light falls, and the obsession that must be inherent
in the practice.
Line 2
While looking around there is one element of the painter’s art the sticks out most to
her, the presence of a single face, repeated endlessly throughout his studio. It is
clear that this artist does not spend time painting portraits of anyone other than “her.”
She, the subject of his art.
Line 3
While searching for the repeating female figure, the speaker finds her “hidden”
throughout different canvases, each time she is spotted, she is lovely.
Line 5
The artist is able to render her differently each time he paints such as. He has
painted her elegantly, like royalty, a number of times. She is shown in red and white
dresses.
Line 6-7
It is clear that the artist finds every type of inspiration in his model and is able to
perceive her in every conceivable form. She is his muse and obsession.
Line 8
In the final line of this section, the speaker states that no form in which he has
portrayed her, “saint,” “queen,” or peasant girl, is any more important or meaningful
than any other. He would love her in whatever form she took.
Line 9-14
In the concluding lines of the piece the speaker makes clear to the reader how
obsessed and dependent this artist has become on his muse. She is more than just
a passing love or beautiful face, he actually takes sustenance from her presence and
time spent admiring her.
Line 9-10
The artist “feeds upon her face” at every hour of the day and night, and she is always
there, looking out from the paintings with “true kind eyes.” It is as if she is looking
back at him, admiring him in kind.
Line 12
Although time may pass in the artist’s life, her face and beauty will never wan as she
is “waiting” around in his studio. His paintings will never be inflicted with “sorrow” so
that her face “dim[s].” She will remain immortalized, just as he sees her, for all time.
Line 13-14
It is important to distinguish, in the last lines of the poem, the way that the artists
perceives her, from the way she actually is. The speaker makes this separation clear
as she states that the way that the artist portrayed her is not the way that she is now.
She is no longer filled with “hope” that shines “bright.” She is not painted “as she is,
but as she fills his dreams.” The artist is longing for a time when things were the way
they used to be, not as they are now, and the paintings are a reminder of that time.
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS
1. Identify the four factors of the woman found on the painter's canvases. (4)
● a Queen
● A Nameless girl
● a Saint
● an Angel
2. Refer to line 9
2.1 Identify the figure of speech. (1)
Metaphor
2.2 How does this figure of speech shape your understanding of the
relatioship between artist and subject. (4)
It compares the beauty of a woman painted by the artist to
something we can eat or consume. This presents the woman as objects
to be prepared and presented, so that the artist can feed on them. The
artist gains energy, fulfillment and even an income from his art, this
places him in a position of demand and power. The artist and woman
have a necessary relationship that must be arranged almost every day.
3. Comment on the effect of the speaker's use of repetition in the final three lines
of the poem.
The word "not" is used four times to highlight that it is the image and
recreation of the women, not the actual woman that is reflected in the painting.
A work of art says more about the impressions of the artist than of the woman who
has been painted.
These are examples of the type of questions that the learners can expect in Paper
2.S
