Sylvain Reynard - Gabriel's Rapture

“Of course, one might object that it is impossible for one person, one woman, to represent the ideal of both agape and eros . If you will allow my indulgence for a moment, I will suggest that such

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skepticism is a form of misogyny. For only a misogynist would argue that women are either saints or seductresses — virgins or whores. Of course, a woman, or a man for that matter, can be both — the muse

can be lover to both soul and body.

“Now consider the painting behind me, Madonna of the

Pomegranate.”

Again, the eyes of the audience shifted to one of Botticelli’s

paintings. Gabriel noticed with satisfaction the way Julia intentionally fingered one of her diamond earrings, as if she understood his revelations and received them gladly. As if she knew he was revealing his love for her through art. His heart swelled.

“Once again, we see the same face repeated in the figure of the

Madonna. Beatrice, Venus, and Mary — a trinity of ideal women,

each wearing the same face. Agape, eros, and chastity, a heady combination that would make even the strongest man fall to his knees, if he was fortunate enough to find one person who manifests all three.”

A cough that sounded suspiciously as if it were covering a derisive remark echoed throughout the room. Angry at being interrupted,

Gabriel scowled in the general direction of the second row, over Julia’s shoulder. The cough was repeated once more for dramatic effect and a testosterone fueled staring contest began between a clearly annoyed Italian and Gabriel.

Conscious of the fact that he was speaking into a microphone,

Gabriel resisted the urge to curse and, with a scathing look at his detractor, continued.

“Some have argued that it was a pomegranate and not an apple

that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. With respect to Botticelli’s painting, many have argued that the pomegranate symbolizes the

blood of Christ in his suffering and his subsequent new life through the resurrection.

“For my purposes, the pomegranate represents the Edenic fruit,

the Madonna as the second Eve and Christ as the second Adam. With

the Madonna, Botticelli hearkens back to the first Eve, the archetype of femininity, beauty, and female companionship.

“I’ll go further, by asserting that Eve is also the ideal of female friendship, the friend of Adam, and thus she is the ideal of philia , the love that emerges out of friendship. The friendship between Mary

and Joseph manifests this ideal, as well.”

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Gabriel’s Rapture

His voice caught, so he took a moment to sip some water before

continuing. Something about the comparison between Julia and Eve

made him feel vulnerable, naked, hearkening back to the night he’d given her an apple and held her in his arms under the stars.

The audience began murmuring, wondering why a polite pause

to take a drink had extended into a break. Gabriel’s color deepened as he raised his eyes to look at his beloved once again, desperate for her understanding.

Her ruby lips parted into an encouraging smile. Instantly, Ga-

briel exhaled.

“Botticelli’s muse is a saint, a lover, and a friend, not a cardboard cut-out of a woman or an adolescent fantasy. She is real, she is

complicated, and she is endlessly fascinating. A woman to worship.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, the preciseness of the Greek language

allows one to speak more perspicuously about the different kinds

of love. A modern treatment of this discussion can be found in C.S.

Lewis’s The Four Loves, if you’re interested.”

He cleared his throat and smiled winningly at the room.

“Finally, consider the painting to my left, Primavera . One might expect to see the face of Botticelli’s muse reflected in the central figure in the painting. But consider the face of Flora, on the right. Once again, she bears a similarity to Beatrice, Venus, and the Madonna.

“Surprisingly, Flora appears twice in the painting. As we move

from the center of the painting to the right, you see Flora pregnant, swollen with Zephyr’s child. Zephyr is on the far right, hovering

amongst the orange trees with the second depiction of Flora, as

a virgin nymph. Her expression is marked with fear. She’s fleeing

the arms of her prospective lover and gazing back at him in panic.

However, when she’s pregnant, her countenance is serene. Her fear

is replaced by contentment.”

Julia flushed as she remembered how kind Gabriel had been to

her the night before. He’d been tender and gentle, and in his arms she’d felt worshipped. Remembering the myth of Flora and Zephyr

she shuddered, wishing that all lovers would be as tender with their virgin partners as Gabriel had been.

“Flora represents the consummation of physical love and moth-

erhood. She is the ideal of storge, or familial love, the kind of love manifested from a mother to her child, and between lovers who

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share a commitment that is not based solely on sex or pleasure, but is between married partners.”

No one but Julia noticed the white knuckling as he held the

edge of the podium with two hands. No one but Julia noticed the

slight tremor in his voice as he pronounced the words pregnant and motherhood .

His eyebrows furrowed as he collected himself, shuffling his

papers for a moment. Julia recognized his vulnerability for what it was, fighting the urge to go to him and embrace him. She began

tapping one of her tangerine colored stiletto heels in anticipation.

Gabriel caught her sudden movement and swallowed hard be-

fore continuing. “In early writings on Primavera , Flora was asserted to be the likeness of La Bella Simonetta, Botticelli’s muse. If that is true, just on visual inspection alone, we can assert that Simonetta is the inspiration for Beatrice, Venus, and the Madonna, for all four ladies share the same face.

“Thus, we have the icons of agape, eros, philia, and storge all represented by a single face, a single woman — Simonetta . To put this another way, one could argue that Botticelli sees in his beloved muse all four types of love and all four ideals of womanhood: saint, lover, friend, and spouse.

“In the end, however, I must return to where we began, with

Beatrice. It is no accident that the inspiration behind one of Italy’s best-known literary works was given Simonetta’s features. Faced with such beauty, such goodness, what man wouldn’t want her by his side not just for a season, but for a lifetime?”

He gazed around the room gravely.

“To quote the Poet, now your blessedness appears . Thank you.”

As Gabriel ended his lecture to enthusiastic applause, Julia blink-ed back tears, overcome with emotion.

Dottore Vitali retook the podium, extending his thanks to Professor Emerson for an illuminating discussion. A small group of local politicians presented him with several gifts, including a medallion depicting the city of Florence.

Julia remained in her seat for as long as possible, hoping that

Gabriel would come to her. But he was deluged with members of

the audience, including several officious art historians.

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Gabriel’s Rapture

(For it was considered brash if not egotistical for a mere literature professor to analyze the crown jewels of the Uffizi’s collection.) Reluctantly, she trailed behind him as several members of the

media plied him with questions. She caught his eye, and he gave her a tight, apologetic smile before posing for pictures.