To Malherbe

Close up of To Malherbe

An open book with an egg nestled in the spine, all made of rose-colored onyx. An inscription in French painted in black at the bottom reads, "L’espace d’un matin" (The span of a morning).
An open book with an egg nestled in the spine, all made of rose-colored onyx. An inscription in French painted in black at the bottom reads, "L’espace d’un matin" (The span of a morning).
Mirella Bentivoglio, À Malherbe, 1975; Onyx, 3 1/4 x 7 x 5 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of the artist; © Mirella Bentivoglio; Photo by Lee Stalsworth

To Malherbe (À Malherbe) is dedicated to the French renaissance poet François de Malherbe, whose famous poem, “Consolation á M. Du Périer” deals with the death of Du Périer’s young daughter Marguerite. The brevity of her life is compared to that of a rose: “Et rose elle a vécu ce que vivent les roses/ L’espace d’un matin” (A rose, she has lived as long as roses live/The span of a morning).

The book, realized in rose-colored onyx, extends the allusion to the color of dawn and a brief life, of which the only memory is its early and most beautiful phase.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Mirella Bentivoglio
  • Title

    To Malherbe
  • Date

    1975
  • Medium

    Onyx
  • Dimensions

    5 3/8 x 7 1/8 x 2 1/4 in.
  • Donor Credit

    Gift of the Artist
  • Photo Credit

    © Mirella Bentivoglio; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
  • On Display

    No