Vladimir Nabokov and the Art of Painting by Gerard de Vries D. Barton Johnson , Liana Ashenden (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 3I5 symbol of Stalinistvalues' who 'can be thought of as the centre of the novel only as much as the nothingnessin the middle of a bagel is broughtinto existence by the dough that surroundsit' (p. 138). The finalchapterdealswith Reka Potudan',Vozvrashchenie, Froand Afrodita, as well as some shorter works such as the semi-autobiographicalSemion, the much-translated Tretiisynand war stories such as Sed'moichelovek and Devushka Roza. The book also includes perceptivecomments on some of Platonov'smore unfamiliarworks:the early stories Antisexus and Rasskazo mnogikh interesnykh veshchakh and the I934 story Semeistvo, which was not publisheduntil 1994. The authortraceswith greatclaritythe developmentof Platonov'sthinking. In the period covered by the first chapter Bullock identifies 'three principal attitudes -repression, transformationand deification - which will define Platonov's utopian attitude towards the feminine for some time to come' (p. 35).By the time he cameto writeIuvenil'noe more in I93I/32, Platonov's treatmentof the woman theme had undergone such an 'astonishingdevelopment ' (p. II5) that he was able to use the term 'polozhitel'naiazhenshchina', an echo of Soviet literature's'fetishizationof the positive hero'. The development continued, to the point where the author feels able to call the chapter 'The woman question is solved'. In RekaPotudan, and in other storiescovered by the final chapter, the author considers that 'Platonov is attempting to promote some kind of reconciliationwith the feminine (andassociatedthemes of domesticity, corporeality and contentment)' (p. i68). This reconciliation, long in coming, finally reached its conclusion in Vozvrashchenie, 'a deceptively unpretentious taleof domesticlife'(p. I98). Legenda, ajoint imprintof MHRA and Maney Publishing,is a new name. At a time when the studyof Russianliteraturein the UK seems to be in severe decline, its appearanceis particularlywelcome. This appearsto be Legenda's firstexcursioninto the Russianfield, and the resultsare impressive.There are long, carefully analysed quotations in Cyrillic, all fully translated in a way which doesjustice to Platonov'shighlyidiosyncraticstyle.More's the pity that, in spite of the dauntingprice of the book, it contains at least sixteen mistakes, mostly minor, but including, for instance, a misspelling of Lomonosov's birthplace Kholmogory (p. I71). The author twice names the 'gender-conscious' reader as his target audience. How many of these there are may be a matter of speculation,but anyone who has read thisinterestingand unusualbook will no doubtjoin their number. Maidenhead MICHAEL PURSGLOVE de Vries, Gerard and Barton Johnson, D. Vladimir Nabokov and theArt of Painting. With an essayby LianaAshenden. AmsterdamUniversityPress, Amsterdam,2oo6. 223 PP.Illustrations.Appendices.Notes. Bibliography. Indexes. ?49.50 (paperback). THE first thing to say about this book is that it would be hard to overemphasize its attractive qualities. It may be a paperback edition but, from 3I6 SEER, 84, 2, 2oo6 its cover illustration(a coloured reproductionof Dosso Dossi's Circe) onwards, the layout, the gloss paper and the apparatusprovided (minorquibbles over referencing notwithstanding)are superb. The reader is treated to thirty-two full colour reproductionsand over forty more in black and white (including some that are detailsfrom the largerprints).In addition to what might count as normal features of apparatus, we are here given a 'List of Passages in Nabokov's Novels, Stories or AutobiographyReferringor Alluding to Paintings ' (Appendix i, pp. I67-77) and a 'List of ArtistsMentioned or Obviously Referred to in Nabokov's Works' (Appendix 2, pp. I78-80). The latter list contains over ioo figures(ofwhom, it is calculated,26 per cent are Italian, 18 per cent Russian, I7 per cent Dutch or Flemish, I3 per cent French,and so on: p. i8o). In other respects, too, the construction of this volume is a little unusual. The contributionof D. BartonJohnson, billed as co-author,is restricted(orso it appears)to the compositionof one chapter(albeitthe longest, and the best), plus lead authorship of a very brief 'Foreword'. The first seven chapters, together with the apparatus,the editing and the rich illustrativecontent, are the responsibility(or so at least one assumes)of Gerardde Vries a government economist by profession,but clearlytoo a connoisseur of Europeanart (as well as 'the leading Dutch Nabokov specialist').A final (ninth)chapter ('Ada and Bosch') is contributedby Liana Ashenden. Here she dextrouslyextends her studies of mimicry and 'erotic entomology', from her MA dissertation (University of Auckland...