Blue Arabesque: A Search for the Sublime

I finished reading this book in late January; a quick read relatively speaking. The author is enamored of words, and of light and color. Like A.S. Byatt, Patricia Hampl holds a special place for Matisse, and the places where he spent his sun-drenched life. I've seen a photo of him in his bed in 1941, not long after his harrowing colostomy and all the attendant complications. His cat lies comfy atop the bed with him; he... Read Full Review

Blue Arabesque is a memoir with an ethereal quality, as the author shares her experiences in understanding Matisse, his models, and the personal journey of being absorbed by a painting. How many of us take the time to follow and contemplate and sort out the mysteries of what intrigues us? Yet, the energy, passion, and art education packed into this delightful little book reveal even more...like what it means to the author... Read Full Review

Blue Arabesque by the inspired Patricia Hampl is as much a work of art as the paintings she describes. Her story begins in the spring of 1972 at the Chicago Art Institute. There she is held spellbound by a profound piece of artwork created by Henri Matisse. She describes her enchantment of his painting of a woman gazing into a fishbowl. The author's remembrance of this finding is much more detailed. Her imagery is that... Read Full Review

This slim volume was packed with imagery and reflections worth a reread. The author has a real gift in drawing from many sources - art, travel, family and spirituality - and creating a rich narrative. It compelled me to read another of her books.

Patricia Hampl is the author of three previous memoirs, A Romantic Education, Virgin Time: In Search of the Contemplative Life,I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory. Her latest autobiographical narrative, BLUE ARABESQUE, describes her 1972 encounter with Henri Matisse's "Femme et poissons rouges" ("Woman Before an Aquarium") on her way to a lunch date in the Chicago Art Institute. The painting, which depicts... Read Full Review