Art History Lesson One perfect, winter afternoon in the Louvre I stood in front of Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe for almost an hour. No one else was around. Inside my mind, the snow falling outside. I stared & stared: nude woman seated closely with two clothed men. Their legs & feet intertwined. His black shoe not quite touching her ivory statue foot. Same old illusion, I thought--ménage à trois. Her direct gaze—flash & depth of brown eyes! A little ennui. Blue ribbon on straw hat. Spilled fruit on the grass. Prostitute or goddess? Well yes, that’s all of us. Julia Caroline Knowlton Julia Caroline Knowlton holds a BA degree in English/French from Duke, MA & PhD degrees in French Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles. The author of a memoir (Body Story, 2004) and a poetry chapbook (The Café of Unintelligible Desire, 2018), she is Professor of French at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. Her accomplishments include an Academy of American Poets College Prize, a Pushcart Prize Nomination, and a fellowship at Antioch. Her poetry has been published in many journals, including Roanoke Review and Raw Art Review. She is currently focused on polishing and publishing her first full-length book of poems.
2 Comments
3/23/2019 08:26:47 pm
When I beheld this painting for the first time in 1983, it was in the Louvre. The experience of looking at the painting inspired my poem.
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5/6/2022 02:00:25 pm
Their legs & feet intertwined his black shoe not quite touching her ivory statue foot. Thank you for sharing your great post!
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July 2025
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