Travel Essays · Question
How does Travel Essays develop the theme of Art and the Artistic Life?
Answer
Travel Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson develops Art and the Artistic Life across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Stevenson examines the painter's and writer's vocation, emphasizing art as a trade requiring discipline, the value of apprenticeship, and the tension between commercial success and creative integrity.
The drum is mused upon as an instrument of noise and martial art, with a reflection on its ironic material and its power to stir heroism.
The hawker's songbook contains pastoral poetry of labour and martial verses, and the canoe is compared to a violin, reflecting on art and craftsmanship.
Bazin recalls his youth as a decorative painter in Paris and his love of museums, which 'kindles a spark' in a workman.
Evidence in the book
- At Landrecies
The drum is mused upon as an instrument of noise and martial art, with a reflection on its ironic material and its power to stir heroism.
- Origny Sainte-Benoîte: A By-Day
The hawker's songbook contains pastoral poetry of labour and martial verses, and the canoe is compared to a violin, reflecting on art and craftsmanship.
- La Fère of Cursed Memory
Bazin recalls his youth as a decorative painter in Paris and his love of museums, which 'kindles a spark' in a workman.
- Noyon Cathedral
The cathedral is celebrated as a supreme work of art, more expressive than any sermon, and compared to mountain scenery and a battleship.
- At Compiègne
The detailed description of the town hall's architecture and mechanical clock figures reflects an appreciation for artistic and whimsical creations.
- Down the Oise: Church Interiors
The narrator's aesthetic appreciation of the ex voto model boat and the 'fashion' of waving to strangers highlight the artistic and imaginative dimensions of travel.
- Précy and the Marionnettes
The chapter explores the lives of traveling performers, their dedication to their craft, and the contrast between artistic vanity and public indifference.
- VII: The Villa Quarters
The chapter is a critique of architectural aesthetics, contrasting artistic design with profit-driven ugliness.
