One of the (many) aspects I admire and appreciate about Mario Vargas Llosa is his interest in visual art. The connection between visual art and literacy being one of the great passions of my life, I feel a kinship with the author of
In Praise of the Stepmother , a novel that includes fantastical elaborations on six great paintings, each of which is reproduced in the text.
I was thinking of Vargas Llosa earlier this week when I was in the Tate Modern. First, I thought of him when I saw a Francis Bacon akin to the "Head I" that is among the paintings featured in
In Praise of the Stepmother . Then I thought of him as I walked through the Gaugin
exhibit . Gaugin's paintings seemed to court literary exploration.
In the gift shop at the conclusion of the exhibit, I found a copy of Vargas Llosa's novel,
This Way to Paradise , which is inspired by Gaugin's life. Imagine my delight at reading, in the second chapter, Vargas Llosa's take on the creation of Gaugin's masterpiece, "Manao Tupapau." Vargas Llosa had beat me to the very literary exploration I'd sensed the paintings invited.
Congratulations on the Nobel Prize in Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa. The stunning accomplishment of your
oeuvre has merited this honor, but more importantly has earned your place among books well-loved for ages.
(Image of Mario Vargas Llosa from
The Guardian )
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