Summary

Part III: In the Gallery continues with “Alte Frau by Balthasar Denner,” an analysis of the eponymous painting, which Smith has bought in the form of a postcard. Smith admits that she often feels uneasy before a painting, consulting a description or catalog rather than trusting her own instincts.

Smith explains that she is writing about the Alte Frau because, as a painter’s subject, she “is an old woman and therefore a destination point on a journey that lies before me” (176). She notes that the Alte Frau seems utterly indifferent to her as a viewer. This, Smith notes, is unusual for art in that time period, when female subjects were generally arranged for male viewing pleasure. Smith...