Serenade was inspired by listening to Neil Diamond’s ‘Longfellow Serenade’. I wouldn’t go through the lyrics here but it does include the singer, in the first person, singing and dreaming about their lady love “beside this sleepy glade” “upon the summer night”. Despite the inspiration, I don’t think this is one of my mothers better paintings. While I love the sentiment and the rendition of the night time atmosphere, I have an issue with the proportions and the overly simplistic and generic rendering of the guitar player.

A reading of the diaries tells the story of an inspired beginning followed by many long breaks, including one for two months while recovering from a bad injury to her right hand and wrist. Although, to her credit during this “healing and recovery” time she painted several paintings with her left hand. Also recorded in the diaries (not reproduced here) was a continuing saga of the young family in the flat/apartment below hers. When they first moved in my mother was often disturbed by the noise of the young child and music playing and late night parties by the father, Pascal. My mother befriended them and they came to an agreement on quiet hours. Later my mother had the child, Beatrix, and mother, Agnes, sit for Quo Vadis, a large and complex painting with six figures. Agnes also helped generate some income for herself and my mother by regularly walking around the village and its many restaurants, selling my mothers cards. In the supplemental images you can see Christian striking a pose as a reference for this painting and of course providing his guitar as a subject as well.

Diary Entries

Supporting Material