Subject
A shreiking magpie straddles a globe that is also a map of Paris labelled with cultural sites including "Opera," “Francais” (La Comédie-Française?), “Musée” (Le Louvre?)," “Palais” (Palais Royale?), “Académie”(Académie Française?), and "École” (École des Beaux-Arts?). Texts in script in the plate surround the bird, clockwise from top:
1.
Un jour, Margot, critique au noir plumage
Lasse des ris injeurieux
Qui sulierent, a toute heure, en tous lieux,
Et son vol leue a leue et son aigle lamage,
Se dit: faisons le monde a mon image,
Le monde me trouvera mieux…..
2.
Or sus, que’n vienne ici, peuple abourde et froide,
Apprenez comme on chante, appenez come on vole…
Rein n’est beau que le laid, faquins, regardez moi;
M’admirer en silence est la supreme loi, …
3.
Des lois, si quelqu’ oiseau, blotti sous la lame
Doucement gazouillait, au temps du Renouveau,
Ou si l’aigle planait dans la sphere enflammee
De luge, au meme instant, nortre die animee
L vaitiabas! A l’aigle; et silence! a l’oiseau
4.
Glorie donc a Margot, l’ardente peronelle!....
La voila maintenant apres tant de ficas,
Sensant que sous sa loi toute il courbe ici leur,
La voila, l’oeil fixe sur la voute eternelle
Et parmi les splendeurs don’t le monde etinelle
Envieuse, elle attend pour elle
Un rayon qui ne viendra pas.
MARGOT la CRITIQUE
Raucaque garrulitas studium que immane loquendi
A free translation:
1.
One day, Magpie, the critic in black plumage
Weary of the spiteful laughter
That swelled, at every hour, in every place.
n her flight, leap to leap, flying like an eagle,
Said to herself: let us make the world in my image,
The world will come to prefer me…
2.
Now then, come here, cold and uncivilized people,
Learn how to sing, learn how to fly…
Nothing is beautiful but the ugly; scoundrels, look at me;
To admire me in silence is the supreme law…
3. Some Laws; if some bird, nestled beneath the blade,
Softly chirped, in the time of Renaissance,
Or if the eagle soared in the flaming sphere,
And swept down, at the same instant, in our animated day,
I swoon before the eagle! and say “silence!” to the bird.
4. Glory then to Margot, the ardent young thing!....
Here she is now after so many trials,
Feeling that, under her law, all will submit,
Here she is, her eye fixed on the eternal vault
And among the splendors with which the world sparkles,
Enviously she awaits, for herself,
A ray that will not come.
