"I believe it has something to do with the difference between innocence and experience in the way we perceive things. As a child, I felt close to nature but I did not understand her as I do now. In my art, I try to look deeper, searching with that 'sense sublime,' but I'll admit to being a bit of a voyeur, like a young man who undresses a girl in his mind."
The above quote is from author Gary Inbinder's first-person narrator, Marcia Brownlow, an artistically gifted American young lady on international tour with her paintings. And reading The Flower to the Painter, one will be treated to not only the personal and artistic odyssey of Marcia but also the late nineteenth century art world spanning both Europe and America, from Rome, Florence, Venice, Nice and Paris to London and San Francisco. If you are an art lover taken by the works of artists like Cassatt, Degas, Renior, Turner, Whistler, Sargent and Eakins, this charming, well crafted historical novel will hold a special appeal.
Gary Inbinder frames his tale thusly: We're in Florence in 1876 and Marcia faces a crisis: she's just been sacked from her job as governess since she struck out against the man of the house, alcoholic bully Mr. Donaldson. Fortunately penniless Marcia can lean on her fellow expatriates Daisy Brewster and Daisy's Aunt Kingford. Aunty Kingford quickly devises a plan desperate Marcia can't turn down: to assume the identity of a man (not a difficult task for Marcia since she possesses the looks and figure of a choirboy) and interview for the job of personal secretary to Arthur Wolcott, an established writer and man of culture and refinement. Marcia takes on the name of her deceased brother Mark Brownlow and becomes Wolcott's trusted secretary. Arthur Wolcott quickly recognizes lad Mark (lass Marcia, really) just might qualify as the next great modern painter and funds her further training and arranges meetings with a number of influential artists and persons of society.
In an interview, Gary Inbinder addressed his choice of using a gender shifting woman artist as his narrator: "I believe many creative people feel marginalized, often to the point of alienation. Artists, writers, poets, actors, etc. tend to be “different” and that difference creates empathy with others similarly marginalized. Moreover, alienation can be exacerbated by bias based on gender and sexual orientation. I’m attracted to stories told by outsiders looking in, people who hide behind masks to enter a world that might not otherwise be open to them. I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be a young woman artist in a male dominated culture."
Set in male dominated nineteenth century, an era of straightjacketed sexual categories and moral rules, Marcia's alienation is compounded by not only being a woman but a gender swapping woman more attracted to other women then to men. How outlandish! Additionally, she's a young woman who has the gall to paint on the level of the masters. Unthinkable!
The book's title is taken from James McNeil Whistler, a quote that's part of the novel's epigraph: "The masterpiece should appear as the flower to the painter - perfect in its bud as in its bloom - with no reason to explain its presence - no mission to fulfill . . . ." Curiously, while reading the novel, I was wondering if the masterpiece that should appear as the flower could not only apply if the masterpiece is a painting but also if the masterpiece is a person - in this case Marcia herself, a youth perfect in bud as in bloom. A number of notables writing at that time, among their number Oscar Wilde, John Ruskin and Walter Pater, proposed such aesthetic appraisal - and I entirely agree.
In his interview, Gary Inbinder also related, "As for plots, I believe mine are character driven. I try to create interesting, believable characters, put them in situations where there’s a potential for dramatic conflict, and let them work things out." One such conflict causing sparks for the cast of characters in The Flower to the Painter is older, classical art versus newer, modern artistic innovations. Here's a direct quote underscoring this collision of values:
"Supply and demand was an iron rule and in the art market critics, wealthy collectors and the artist's showmanship could all stimulate demand. When the demand rose and supply dwindled due to speculative collection, prices would soar. As for self-promotion, many considered Whistler a shameless self-promoter, the P.T. Barnum of art, but I also judged him a great painter. the two are not mutually exclusive, and self-promotion is no crime."
Recall I mentioned Marcia meeting a string of famous artists. I'll conclude with a clip that I hope you will take as an invitation to pick up a copy of the novel and treat yourself to the world of nineteenth century art:
"Renior grinned and I detected a twinkle in his intense, expressive eyes. He carried a sketchpad and a box of charcoals. He opened the pad to a blank sheet and offered it to me, along with the charcoals as if challenging me to a friendly duel. I accepted, selected a vine stick and we sat together as the band began another tune."
American author Gary Inbinder currently lives in Southern California where he continues to enjoy art and literature in many forms
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