Sonnet 7: Golden pilgrimageLo! in the orient when the gracious light Lifts up his burning head, each under eye Doth homage to his new-appearing sight, Serving with looks his sacred majesty; And having climb'd the steep-up heavenly hill, Resembling strong youth in his middle age, yet mortal looks adore his beauty still, Attending on his golden pilgrimage; But when from highmost pitch, with weary car, Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day, The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are From his low tract and look another way. So thou, thyself out-going in thy noon, Unlook'd on diest, unless thou get a son.William Shakespeare |
March 2012 |
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When a sonnet relies, like this one does, on a single metaphor, its translation into painting is (relatively) straightforward: if a man’s journey through his life is like the sun’s daily journey through the sky, then this is how it can be represented in painting. But it cannot be just a painting of the sun, it has to be the overall arc of its motion: upwards to the highmost pitch and then downwards, away from the viewer’s eye. This composition is inspired by Joseph Siroker’s photo of a church interior. The painting is not quite finalised, it is still in-progress — although I haven’t touched it in a while, I plan to return to it at a later stage. |
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