The poem interprets DGR's chalk drawing of his picture of
Pandora.
Its subtlety is perhaps most explicit in its final lines, where it is left
ambiguous whether the “gift” refers to DGR's picture or to Pandora's box. That
double reference, along with the realistic London setting, emphasizes the poem's view of
DGR's aesthetic idealism as a dark reflex of, and commentary upon, the artist's position
in the world of late nineteenth-century London. In that respect the poem draws
an arresting parallel between DGR's and Baudelaire's urbanized aesthetic practices.
This collection contains 1 text or image, including:
South African National Gallery Manuscript text
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
The poem interprets DGR's chalk drawing of his picture of Pandora. Its subtlety is perhaps most explicit in its final lines, where it is left ambiguous whether the “gift” refers to DGR's picture or to Pandora's box. That double reference, along with the realistic London setting, emphasizes the poem's view of DGR's aesthetic idealism as a dark reflex of, and commentary upon, the artist's position in the world of late nineteenth-century London. In that respect the poem draws an arresting parallel between DGR's and Baudelaire's urbanized aesthetic practices.
In 1874 a similar poetical interpretation (written as a sonnet) was composed for DGR's large oil Dante's Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice.
Printing History
The manuscript poem has never been printed.