Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Assistance, please!

The Bohemian (or Lise the Bohemian), Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1868

In my pursuit of new endeavors, I’m must ask for some assistance, dear readers. Who would you say exemplifies the description “Bohemian” or “Vagabond”?

Many thanks to all of you!

MT


8 comments:

  1. I tend to think of Paris in the 1920s - artists, writers, the avant gard - all living and working together.

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  2. I think of Lisa over at Bloomsbury Life blog and then I think of Eddie Brickel - writers, musicians and then those that like to live eccentrically.
    Can I join in the vagabond fun?
    pve

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  3. oh so difficult with such a broad range of periods. the words have meaning depending on the era for sure.Maybe the ultimate bohemian Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven ? over the moon. It is hard to find a true bohemian today. Vagabond-is more antiquated, it really doesn't translate with today's world. You need to get into the book Gypset-if you already haven't already. Tell us more!

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  4. JMW - absolutely!

    pve - Oh, I adore Lisa. You are always welcome to join in on the vagabond exploits.

    little augury - I knew you would weigh in appropriately! I agree with the lack of true bohemians in today's world. Wearing fringed boots and flowing blouses does not a bohemian make! I cannot wait to share this new development with all of you! I'm bursting at the seams with excitement!

    MT

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  5. Hi, your posts are the most intriguing :) in the sense that you involve your readers. What came to mind immediately was Modigliani. "Amedeo Modigliani was the bohemian artist par excellence - his posthumous legend is almost as famous as Van Gogh's. In stylistic terms he was an oddity: contemporary with the Cubists, but not part of their movement, he forms a bridge between the generation of Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art Deco painters of the 1920s."

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  6. I agree, this is an intriguing post.
    My suggestions are fictional.
    The Countess Ellen Olenska from Wharton's "Age of Innocence" came to mind: Ellen, in spite of all her opportunities and her privileges, had become simply "Bohemian."
    (ch 26)
    Also, Sylvie, the itinerant aunt who came to care for the two girls in "Housekeeping" by Marilynne Robinson. The ultimate vagabond.

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  7. I'm afraid the word "bohemian" has become a bit of an affectation in today's society. True bohemians never "acted" like bohemians. They just were.

    Now "vagabond" is another idea all together. That words brings to mind someone nomadic and untethered to society in any form. Years and years ago, before my time, there used to be a fellow who traveled through these parts with a team of goats. He lived in sort of a gypsy wagon and would often stop by the side of the road and form an encampment of sorts. He was famously, and obviously, known as The Goat Man. My husband's relatives remembered him well, both for his eccentricity and for the pungent smell of the goats. But I swear there was a certain amount of wistfulness in their eyes when they spoke of him. A true vagabond, I would say.

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  8. I agree with PT&E. Vagabond does seem less desirable. Bohemian is saying "the rules do not apply to me" and often makes the rule-minders look rather joyless.

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Inspire me! Go on, I dare you.