Collage 181

Lynn Waskelis
from page 369-370 of original text
collage, acrylic paint
made 7/30/10
from page 290-292 of Pevear/Volokhonsky translation:

Where is it, that lofty sky, which I never knew till now and saw today?" was his first thought. "And I never knew this suffering either," he thought. "Yes, I knew nothing, nothing till now. But where am I?"...

...He opened his eyes. Over him again was that same lofty sky with floating clouds rising still higher, through which showed the blue of infinity...

"Voila une belle mort," said Napoleon looking at Bolkonsky...

...He had a burning in his head; he felt that he was losing blood, and he saw above him that distant, lofty and eternal sky. He knew that it was Napoleon- his hero- but at that moment, Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant man compared with what was now happening between his soul and this lofty, infinite sky with clouds racing across it.

This was one of my favorite passages when I read War and Peace a few years ago. Its harsh beauty stood out like the sky it describes. I liked that I "drew" this page by chance and was challenged to make a collage from it.