Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Alicia Suskin Ostriker's poem "Anecdote with Flowers: 1919" reflects on the late period of the French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, contrasting the vitality of his art with the physical decline he experienced in his final years. Through the lens of Renoir's artistic process and the social milieu of post-World War I Paris, Ostriker explores themes of beauty, resilience, and the persistence of life and art in the face of suffering and mortality.

The poem begins by situating Renoir "at the end," painting with "brushes strapped to his hand." This image immediately evokes the physical limitations imposed by his severe arthritis, which left him crippled and in constant pain. Yet, despite these afflictions, Renoir's creative spirit remains undiminished. His "palette aroused 'to crepuscular / Pinks, oranges, reds,'" suggests that even as his body deteriorates, his passion for capturing the beauty of the world intensifies. The use of the word "crepuscular," which refers to the twilight, hints at the approaching end of Renoir's life, but also at a time of rich, warm colors—those of sunset—indicating the emotional depth and sensuality that continued to characterize his work.

Renoir's "nudes ever more voluptuous" in this period reflect his enduring love for the human form, emphasizing his focus on lush, radiant beauty even as his own physical condition became more frail. The poem juxtaposes the image of Renoir, possibly "tucking a counterpane under his beard, coughing," with the vibrancy of his paintings. The image of Renoir, frail and near death, contrasts sharply with the vividness of his art, underscoring the tension between his physical decline and his undiminished artistic output. His whispered word "flowers" at the moment of death symbolizes his lifelong devotion to beauty and the natural world, which he continued to celebrate in his art until the very end.

Ostriker then shifts the focus to the broader context of post-war Paris. The poem describes "the plump, middle-class Parisiennes" who, in the aftermath of the Great War, resumed "Their wholesome pleasures, their picnics, / Their flirtations, their baths." This return to normalcy, to everyday joys and sensual pleasures, is depicted as a kind of floral rebirth—like "roses," "sunflowers," and "peonies." These flowers, often symbols of beauty, fertility, and life, contrast with the devastation of the war that had just ended. The imagery suggests a world returning to life, flourishing once more after the devastation, much like the continuing vitality of Renoir's art despite his personal suffering.

The poem’s brief but poignant reflection on Renoir’s final years serves as a metaphor for the resilience of life and art. Even in the face of physical decline and the trauma of war, the human spirit seeks out beauty, pleasure, and creation. Renoir's ability to produce work filled with life and color, even as he faced his own mortality, mirrors the broader societal desire to reclaim joy and normalcy after a period of profound loss and destruction.

"Anecdote with Flowers: 1919" encapsulates the paradox of life’s continuity amidst suffering and death. Renoir’s vibrant, voluptuous paintings stand as a testament to the enduring power of art to capture and preserve beauty, even in the twilight of life. The poem suggests that both the artist and the society around him, though marked by suffering, find ways to reassert life’s pleasures and the persistence of beauty, much like flowers blooming after a harsh winter.

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