Q.
Quiet. With all of the covid chatter – inside crowded apartments, chart-stuffed newscasts, teeming brains – many are looking for a little peace and quiet. How have artists captured this idea of ‘quiet’?

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A.

The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘quiet’ as:
• ‘Absence of noise or bustle; silence; calm.
• Freedom from disturbance or interruption by others.
• A peaceful or settled state of affairs in social or political life.’

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We can start on Broadway, where the notion of quiet comes through nicely in the sudden shift in pacing, tone, and dynamics for the chorus of ‘Quiet’, from ‘Matilda the Musical’.

‘Quiet …
Like silence, but not really silent …
Just that still sort of quiet
Like the sound of a page being turned in a book,
Or a pause in a walk in the woods…’

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And here are some artists who offer their pictures of quiet. Which moment of quiet appeals most to you?

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Quiet Day on the Seine. Julius Leblanc Stewart. 1880

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Quiet. James Tissot. 1881

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A Quiet Pool on a Sunny Day. Winslow Homer. 1889

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Quiet Abode. Isaac Levitan. 1890

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The Quiet River. The Thames at Chiswick. Victor Pasmore. 1943

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A Quiet Scene. Eugenie Baizerman. 1947

Quiet Blue. Rainey Bennett. 1960

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Quiet. John Ferren. 1965

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A Quiet Moment. Henry Villierme. 1995

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www.justcurious.ca

Header: Quiet Twilight, Honfleur. 1922