Quote of the Day (Monica Bellucci, on How Maria Callas ‘Created What She Wanted To Be’)

“She [opera singer Maria Callas] created what she wanted to be, like many, many, many people in the business. Marilyn Monroe wasn’t the blonde bombshell when she started. We call this ‘les femmes du spectacle.’ They know how to create illusion. An artist uses her own body as a transmitter, as a way to show themselves. The body becomes an instrument.”— Italian actress Monica Bellucci quoted by Elisabeth Vincentelli, “Reviving the Aura of a Diva,” The New York Times, Jan. 26, 2023

I had become intrigued by this quote almost two years ago, but it’s come to the forefront of my consciousness now with the release of the Angelina Jolie biopic about Callas, Maria. If anyone understands the artistic creation of illusions in the manner described by Ms. Bellucci, it would have to be Ms. Jolie, I think.

(The image accompanying this post, of Maria Callas in her home in Milan, Italy, was taken in 1957 by Federico Patellani.)

Quote of the Day (W.H. Auden, on ‘The Cross of the Moment’)

“We would rather be ruined than changed

We would rather die in our dread

Than climb the cross of the moment

And let our illusions die.”― British poet W.H. Auden (1907-1973), The Age of Anxiety: A Baroque Eclogue (1947)

Quote of the Day (Joseph Conrad, on How 'Every Age is Fed on Illusions’)

"Every age is fed on illusions, lest men should renounce life early and the human race come to an end." — Joseph Conrad, Victory: An Island Tale (1915)

Quote of the Day (Henrik Ibsen, on ‘Castles in the Air’)

“Castles in the air — they are so easy to take refuge in. And so easy to build, too.”—Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), The Master Builder (1892)

Quote of the Day (Henrik Ibsen, on “Castles in the Air”)

“Castles in the air - they are so easy to take refuge in. And so easy to build, too.”—Playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), The Master Builder (1892)

Quote of the Day (Saul Bellow, on Intelligence and Illusion)

"A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep." – Saul Bellow, To Jerusalem and Back: A Personal Account (1976)