Paolo, an artist, treats human subjects
like objects; he searches for the inanimate flesh to make it come alive once
again in his art. He cannot see beyond
his own flesh and, therefore, has a compulsive need to capture the beauty of
the human form in his paintings. He is
calculating, methodical and manipulative in the way he obtains these
objects. Paolo attempts to move past the
emotional element of his subjects to get to the purpose of his art, as
illustrated in the following passage:
"...The
skin of a hanged man is as the skin of any other. It is its own miracle, a paragon of
suppleness and strength and exquisite sensitivity and, when hairless and smooth
as in youth and in the female form, a thing of beauty beyond compare."
When Caterina, the slave girl, is presented
to Paolo, he becomes obsessed with the living quality of her female form and
her strange markings. Caterina is an
unwitting gift or pawn, passed around between the characters for the benefit of
monetary, artistic and personal status.
Paolo insists on painting her in the nude, as he says "a muse
clothed is against Nature. The muse must
be naked. She is naked truth. The naked flame of inspiration."
The novel examines the existing classes,
and relationships between master and slave.
The need each character has to interact with the other characters, in
their varying positions, is modeled on hierarchy, obedience, responsibility and
human value. Paolo reserves the right to
manipulate human beings to dissect and exploit them, for the sake of art. Still, for his livelihood and art, he must
answer to his landlord, Ceccio.
The circling relationships between the characters
are interconnected and dependent, with different agendas revolving around their
individual needs for the slave girl, Caterina.
She will win them esteem, power, love, or artistic pursuit. Art and people are for bartering, and a means
of ownership. Nothing is sacred in terms
of art or human life, as each are subject to revisions.
Art is the central theme, and the
characters are tied to it either physically or intrinsically. Holdstock's writing is thorough and
painstakingly descriptive. She leaves
out no detail of the work involved. For
instance:
"Carefully he sticks pins into the anima and, in a process of trial and
error, positions it securely in the mould, closing the two halves round
it. The protruding pins keep it away
from the inner walls; it hangs inside, clear of the shell of the mould, trapped
and at the same time free, the way, Maestro Paolo once remarked, the rough
unfinished soul hangs inside the body, a disparate element, longing for
fire. So the artist's work, said Maestro
Paolo, was the mirror of God's creation, Man."
The language used is clinical and
instructive, and yet poetic and transcendent.
Beyond Measure is,
essentially, a commentary on art: how
one's work is viewed by outsiders, other artists and critics, and the lengths
that artists will go to come close to divinity.
As well, the sacrifices people will make to achieve their desires.
No comments:
Post a Comment