#Complaints made to the sparrow of Lesbia

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Jean-Baptiste Bertrand (France, 1823-1887) Lesbia and the Sparrow, 1875 This painting illustrates the "Complaint made to the Sparrow of Lesbie" from the collection of poems 'Carmina' written by Catullus (Verona, 87 - 54 BC). Catullus, in 25 of his poems, mentions his devotion to a woman he refers to as "Lesbia", who is widely believed to have been the Roman aristocrat Clodia Metelli, who was married to Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer. The Latin poet Catullus from the Roman Republic was a fan of Sappho (a resident of Lesbos and therefore a Lesbian as anyone would be called if resident of the Grecian Island Lesbos), and so he named his beloved after her. Catullus was passionately in love with "Lesbia", a married woman who lived in Rome. In "Lament for Lesbia's Sparrow", he depicts a sparrow who enjoys all the attentions of his mistress, only to reveal his desire and his own jealousy in the face of the indifference of his loved one towards him.

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Charles-Guillaume Brun Montpellier (French, 1825-1908) The Sparrow of Lesbia, 1860

This painting illustrates the "Complaint made to the Sparrow of Lesbie" from the collection of poems 'Carmina' written by Catullus (Verona, 87 - 54 BC). Catullus, in 25 of his poems, mentions his devotion to a woman he refers to as "Lesbia", who is widely believed to have been the Roman aristocrat Clodia Metelli, who was married to Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer. The Latin poet Catullus from the Roman Republic was a fan of Sappho (a resident of Lesbos and therefore a Lesbian as anyone would be called if resident of the Grecian Island Lesbos), and so he named his beloved after her. Catullus was passionately in love with "Lesbia", a married woman who lived in Rome. In "Lament for Lesbia's Sparrow", he depicts a sparrow who enjoys all the attentions of his mistress, only to reveal his desire and his own jealousy in the face of the indifference of his loved one towards him.