We've had a few sunny and warm days here in Portland; the rain and cold will soon return, but it's been lovely. It's also been lovely, of late, to see what our new/old yard has in store, what the Spring will be presenting us with. (I've always heard that when you've come into possession of a old yard you need to spend the first year doing little and waiting to see what comes popping out of the ground; I'm sure I won't have that much patience.) At this point there really isn't even the shadow of what one could call a garden - the whole place has been horribly neglected, for years by the look of it - and back and front and side yards are all a dreary, flat nothing. But Nature is remarkably persistent, and besides the crocus - not at all my favorite - all sorts of other things are presently peeping out. There are quite obvious signs of tulips and the fragile beginnings of what I really hope are peonies - which are among my favorites. The most prevalent of the new re-arrivals are unmistakably daffodils and/or narcissus (I can't yet tell which)... which leads us - with the most tenuous thematic connection - to this post. To mark the beginnings of Spring, here are a just few examples inspired by that most fertile mythological ground for painters, the sad and instructive story of Narcissus. So, with your indulgence, I offer you a small, scantily-clad bouquet of narcissi!
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| Echo and Narcissus, by John William Waterhouse, 1903. |
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| Narcissus Gazing at His Reflection, by Dirck van Baburen, circa 1621-22. |
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| Narcissus, by Gyula Benczúr, 1881. |
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| Narcissus, by Joseph Denis Odevaere, circa 1820. |
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| The Death of Narcissus, by François-Xavier Fabre, 1814. |
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| Narcissus, by Franciscus de Neve (II), after circa 1650. |
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| Narcissus, by Franc Kavčič (known, variously, as Franz Caucig, Franco Caucig, Francesco Caucig, or Frančišek Caucig), before 1810. |
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| Narcissus, by Caravaggio, circa 1597-99. |
