A Beau Ideal (or, this blog gains direction)

I suppose this journal should start to live up to its name, recording not just the search but the encounter with many things that are beautiful... like the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites, for instance.



An art shop in my hometown held an immense copy of this lovely image. For ten-year-old me, it was love at first sight. It conveys an old-fashioned ideal of love as something that ennobles one to fight, to conquer, and to return with honor to one's beloved. As a child myself, I felt drawn to the young page-boy figure in the background. In his admiration for the knight and the lovely lady, I now see the effect that wholesome romance has for impressionable on-lookers. Think Casablanca, not The Notebook. Truly-lived love blesses and enriches all sorts of souls.

I hope that my page-boy grew up to fight gloriously for his own beloved beau ideal, just like his hero. As I grow older, I hope to someday channel some of the virtue and dignity of the maiden in this portrayal. Perhaps I too can embody a bit of the beautiful, even as I further the life-long search.