Answer #139 - It's called the Art of Deception

The Madonna


I hiled me a woman from the street
Shameless, but oh, so fair!
I bade her sit in the model's seat
And I painted her sitting there.

I hid all trace of her heart unclean;
I painted a babe at her breast;
I painted her as she might have been
If the Worst had been the Best.

She laughed at my picture and went away
Then came with a knowing nod,
A connoisseur, and I heard him say,
"Tis Mary, the Mother of God."

So I painted a halo round her hair,
And I sold her and took my fee,
And she hangs in the church of Saint Hilaire,
Where you and all may see. - Robert Service

Isn't it funny, how easily a lie can be perpetrated - and stands, with the blessing of history, for all time?

There's a painting on my kitchen wall, mixed in with all of the religious artifacts I've collected (my homage to Roman Catholicism in all it's splendiferousness). It's of a young boy, near the turn of last century. When people ask, I've taken lately to referring to it as my 'grandfather.' Though I bought it in a Goodwill in Florida years ago for $3 bucks, I believe that, over time, the painting will be passed down, generation to generation, as an ancestor.

It doesn't matter that I'm no relation to the tyke. It's a representation, is all. A tangible chunk of history on a wall. Maybe not mine - but someone else was willing to give it up - so I take it now, and make it my own.

It's an experiment. Don't tell anyone.


Besides, he looks happy on my kitchen wall. Almost as happy as the
Mexican marionettes in the living room.