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Description
The visual impressions created by these two portraits are very extreme, but they provide such a dramatic venue for a discussion of the enigma of beauty, its meaning and its effect on all of us. Though it may not be fair to compare an aged woman's portrait to that of a younger colleague, the portraits represent, in my mind, two paths in our visual understanding. Why do we adore beauty? How does beauty benefit to the mind and spirit?

...........

The word beauty comes to us from words which the old world, meaning that which gives pleasure to the mind and senses. It seems like a statement of the obvious, yet we come to understand that there are many different beauties, and many different pleasures, each person finding their own appreciation on many different levels of consciousness. Therefore, the old saying that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," must surely be true. Yet is beauty merely a subjective reality alone? Are there no objective standards or rules? Perhaps there are in some ethereal sense, of which only the most discerning minds can grasp, although it is difficult to imagine such a thing. Perhaps it was this remote plane of beauty, about which John Keats wrote in Ode on a Grecian Urn.
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty." His vision is very engaging to our emotions and our minds, but the clever meaning is still elusive. Our subjective nature brings us back to consider simply what we like, or what we don't like.

..........

When we view these two portraits, we are left with a variety of first impressions. Please look at the elderly woman on the left. I've had this portrait in my possession for several years, and it has always been a marvel. She probably lived in America circa 1880, and her visage speaks to us from a long forgotten era. She seems, on the surface, to have an odious, priggish expression. She could be a nay-saying school teacher, or someone in authority, perhaps inviting our prejudices about such people. Could she really be as formidable as she appears, or are there hints of a more benign interpretation?

The woman on the right is a turn-of-the-century stage actress named Maude Fealy. Her dreamy beauty is so amazing on first glance, I'm sure most of us would agree. We are charmed by every nuance of her radiant charm, obviously appealing to that which pleases. Yet, is beauty merely "skin-deep," as they say? Must we form our opinions from mere superficiality, or can we begin to see beyond the surface and consider things more substantial?

In her portrait, Miss Fealy seems to have landed here from Mount Olympus, yet we know that she must have suffered the same temptations and disappointments as befalls every person. It is known that she was a native of Colorado, being born there in 1885. It was truly the era of the wild west. Somehow, she was born into a family of dramatists, and made her way to Broadway. She followed her success on the Great White Way with a lengthy tour of the British Isles, returning to America at the outbreak of WW1, and spending the remainder of her life in Colorado.

Miss Fealy knew triumph and disappointment. Her Victorian-Edwardian beauty and style was became very out of date, and in the subsequent years of the Roaring Twenties, her type of woman was derided and demeaned. Motion pictures would cater to more stylish, modern women. pretending that the former world had never existed.

Do we see the struggle or the heartbreak in her face? No, not in this portrait, but it is good to know what lies beneath the surface, bringing us an extra dose of humanity and compassion, to which every decent person should strive.

With those qualities in mind, we return to our old woman of the 1880's. Was she really the harsh woman she appears to be?

Our elderly matron possesses a very unusual downturned mouth, which we assume is from a lifetime of frowning. Perhaps her expression is not a permanent frown, but rather, the results of not having any teeth. Why did she not get false teeth from a reliable dentist? Was she too ignorant of how pitiful she appeared? Maybe there was no dentist within a hundred miles. Perhaps she took the funds she would have used for new teeth, and gave it to a charitable cause, realizing that there were others worse off than herself. It's possible her energy went into some greater cause than herself, causing her to be disinterested in her appearance.

I've searched the woman's eyes, trying to find the personality behind the old fashioned spectacles. I believe that her eyes are more benign than I noticed at first. If you look at them carefully, you will probably come to the same conclusion. It could very well be that this woman is not a tyrannical nemesis, after all, in spite of her obvious long life of struggle and responsibility, her black dress, and her hair styled in that annoying little bun. In the end, just as with Maud's portrait, we may take a lesson in how "appearances deceive." It is our duty to look beyond the surface and try to discover the humanity of the subject's personality. Anything less would be less than compassionate.

If beauty in all its forms is a worthwhile obsession, then what of ugly? Personally, for me, ugliness is a quality which better describes negative feelings, such as hate and hostility, rather than a word that should be applied to anyone's appearance. If a person were born with an ear where there nose should be, we would be shocked to see them, but we would not allow ourselves to regard such a deformity as "ugly." We would only apply that word when needed, to describe the negative passions which bring true misery into our world.

Finally, we are left with a thoughtful, subjective opinion, if not the mystical certainty of John Keats poem. After all, it is not the senses that rule our love of beauty, but our hearts, as well. When we love another person, whether in friendliness or romance, the endearing nature of their personality becomes associated with their appearance. They are truly beautiful and grand in our eyes, in spite of their faults and problems. We become transfixed in the loveliness of their humanity and their special aura. This is an essential truth to our life. Maybe this is what Keats meant when he wrote of truth being beauty, and he finishes the poem with "That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." Perhaps this is the real enigma of beauty.

.............

Thanks so much for reading. I'm sure I did not cover all the bases, so, please leave some good comments. Thanks.

.............

Made form vintage stock from.... [link]

...........

Description
The visual impressions created by these two portraits are very extreme, but they provide such a dramatic venue for a discussion of the enigma of beauty, its meaning and its effect on all of us. Though it may not be fair to compare an aged woman's portrait to that of a younger colleague, the portraits represent, in my mind, two paths in our visual understanding. Why do we adore beauty? How does beauty benefit to the mind and spirit?

...........

The word beauty comes to us from words which the old world, meaning that which gives pleasure to the mind and senses. It seems like a statement of the obvious, yet we come to understand that there are many different beauties, and many different pleasures, each person finding their own appreciation on many different levels of consciousness. Therefore, the old saying that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," must surely be true. Yet is beauty merely a subjective reality alone? Are there no objective standards or rules? Perhaps there are in some ethereal sense, of which only the most discerning minds can grasp, although it is difficult to imagine such a thing. Perhaps it was this remote plane of beauty, about which John Keats wrote in Ode on a Grecian Urn.
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty." His vision is very engaging to our emotions and our minds, but the clever meaning is still elusive. Our subjective nature brings us back to consider simply what we like, or what we don't like.

..........

When we view these two portraits, we are left with a variety of first impressions. Please look at the elderly woman on the left. I've had this portrait in my possession for several years, and it has always been a marvel. She probably lived in America circa 1880, and her visage speaks to us from a long forgotten era. She seems, on the surface, to have an odious, priggish expression. She could be a nay-saying school teacher, or someone in authority, perhaps inviting our prejudices about such people. Could she really be as formidable as she appears, or are there hints of a more benign interpretation?

The woman on the right is a turn-of-the-century stage actress named Maude Fealy. Her dreamy beauty is so amazing on first glance, I'm sure most of us would agree. We are charmed by every nuance of her radiant charm, obviously appealing to that which pleases. Yet, is beauty merely "skin-deep," as they say? Must we form our opinions from mere superficiality, or can we begin to see beyond the surface and consider things more substantial?

In her portrait, Miss Fealy seems to have landed here from Mount Olympus, yet we know that she must have suffered the same temptations and disappointments as befalls every person. It is known that she was a native of Colorado, being born there in 1885. It was truly the era of the wild west. Somehow, she was born into a family of dramatists, and made her way to Broadway. She followed her success on the Great White Way with a lengthy tour of the British Isles, returning to America at the outbreak of WW1, and spending the remainder of her life in Colorado.

Miss Fealy knew triumph and disappointment. Her Victorian-Edwardian beauty and style was became very out of date, and in the subsequent years of the Roaring Twenties, her type of woman was derided and demeaned. Motion pictures would cater to more stylish, modern women. pretending that the former world had never existed.

Do we see the struggle or the heartbreak in her face? No, not in this portrait, but it is good to know what lies beneath the surface, bringing us an extra dose of humanity and compassion, to which every decent person should strive.

With those qualities in mind, we return to our old woman of the 1880's. Was she really the harsh woman she appears to be?

Our elderly matron possesses a very unusual downturned mouth, which we assume is from a lifetime of frowning. Perhaps her expression is not a permanent frown, but rather, the results of not having any teeth. Why did she not get false teeth from a reliable dentist? Was she too ignorant of how pitiful she appeared? Maybe there was no dentist within a hundred miles. Perhaps she took the funds she would have used for new teeth, and gave it to a charitable cause, realizing that there were others worse off than herself. It's possible her energy went into some greater cause than herself, causing her to be disinterested in her appearance.

I've searched the woman's eyes, trying to find the personality behind the old fashioned spectacles. I believe that her eyes are more benign than I noticed at first. If you look at them carefully, you will probably come to the same conclusion. It could very well be that this woman is not a tyrannical nemesis, after all, in spite of her obvious long life of struggle and responsibility, her black dress, and her hair styled in that annoying little bun. In the end, just as with Maud's portrait, we may take a lesson in how "appearances deceive." It is our duty to look beyond the surface and try to discover the humanity of the subject's personality. Anything less would be less than compassionate.

If beauty in all its forms is a worthwhile obsession, then what of ugly? Personally, for me, ugliness is a quality which better describes negative feelings, such as hate and hostility, rather than a word that should be applied to anyone's appearance. If a person were born with an ear where there nose should be, we would be shocked to see them, but we would not allow ourselves to regard such a deformity as "ugly." We would only apply that word when needed, to describe the negative passions which bring true misery into our world.

Finally, we are left with a thoughtful, subjective opinion, if not the mystical certainty of John Keats poem. After all, it is not the senses that rule our love of beauty, but our hearts, as well. When we love another person, whether in friendliness or romance, the endearing nature of their personality becomes associated with their appearance. They are truly beautiful and grand in our eyes, in spite of their faults and problems. We become transfixed in the loveliness of their humanity and their special aura. This is an essential truth to our life. Maybe this is what Keats meant when he wrote of truth being beauty, and he finishes the poem with "That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." Perhaps this is the real enigma of beauty.

.............

Thanks so much for reading. I'm sure I did not cover all the bases, so, please leave some good comments. Thanks.

.............

Made form vintage stock from.... [link]

...........