Sunday 9 November 2014

a man's reach should exceed his grasp


Title from Robert Browning's "Andrea del Sarto," in which the full line is "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"

String of macaw feathers made as an offering to the gods by the Huichol Indians of northwestern Mexico. Extension ladder from Uline industrial supply catalog. Cloud from The Book of Clouds by John Day. Lithograph of hand by N. H. Jacob, from an anatomy & surgery book by the 19th century French surgeon J. B. M. Bourgery.

5 comments:

  1. Fi, I love everything about this...the composition, the title, the colors...GREAT job!

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  2. Such a great title and a great depth in this composition, because of the black.
    I agree with Lynn, I also love everything about this!

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  3. Thanks for your kind words! My great-niece Grace (a freshman in high school, who does collage) deserves some credit for the composition, because it was her idea to have the ladder going up under the feathers. =smile=

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  4. Very meaningful, Fi - and I love the feathers in heaven!

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