The Painter by John Ashbery is a beautiful literary work

published is 1956. It is one of the finest pieces of art in English

literature. The poem basically describes the communal and
traditional beliefs of the society, because of which they cannot
accept change and have put restrictions of the freedom of art.
“The Painter” is an allegory, a symbolic fictional narrative,
The Painter” has seven stanzas in total.
In the poem ‘The Painter’, the poet John Ashbery describes the
artistic creativity in direct conflict with the demands of today’s
society. Ashbery uses a persona to reveal his poetic urge
Allegory is fictional literary narrative or artistic expression that
convey s a symbolic meaning parallel to but
distinct from, and more important than, the literal meaning.
The Painter is both a political and religious allegory

Sitting between the sea and the buildings

He enjoyed painting the sea’s portrait.
But just as children imagine a prayer
A painter is sitting between a sea and some buildings. He wants
to draw a portrait of the sea. He expects the sea to bring up
sand to him, take the brush from his hand and paint the portrait
itself but it is nothing more than a child’s wish.
The painter is incapable of portraying the beauty of nature on
his canvas so he is sitting there, trying to figure out what to do
until the people living in the buildings ask him to paint
something that is of some use. They tell him that the subject
that he wants to paint is endless and complex. They ask him
either to choose a subject that is easy, traditional and possible
or just keep praying. The painter is incapable of explaining it to
those superficial and lazy people in the buildings that it is
nature and feelings that can bring life to a canvas, not the old
traditional superficial ideas of theirs. He then gives up on the
sea and chooses his wife as the new subject for his portrait. He
tries to make a beautiful portrait of her, as beautiful as ruined
buildings but he gives up on that as well. He failed to draw a
portrait of his wife too. He felt as if he had forgotten to draw at
all. “My soul, when I paint this next portrait
Let it be you who wrecks the canvas.” Finally his wish for
creating something new fades away. He gives up on drawing
anything on the canvas at all. He puts his brush down and
screams so loud that it goes up to the skies.
The people in the buildings have succeeded in discouraging
him. They throw the canvas and the brush in the sea and his
wish to portray the sea remains a prayer only.
He gathers up the courage again and dips his brush in the sea.
He prays in his heart and ask the sea to fill the portrait with
itself on it when he starts painting. The news of him changing
his subject back to the sea has spread like a forest fire among
the people of the buildings.

Imagine those people who were killed for their innovative and
creative ideas.

He now is too tired to lift his brush up anymore. This provokes

his contemporaries in the buildings. They tell him that they do
not wish for anything like him. Neither do they want to bring
the element of nature onto their canvases nor do they want the
sea to draw its own portrait for them. Finally his wish for
creating something new fades away. He gives up on drawing
anything on the canvas at all. He puts his brush down and
screams so loud that it goes up to the skies.
"And the sea devoured the canvas and the brush
As though his subject had decided to remain a prayer.'
The main theme of the poem is that innovator, modern and
creative artists are crucified by the
traditional and conventional people. This is not the only theme
because the poem is to be understood at
many different levels.
Nature and art go side by side. Art without nature is like a body
without soul. In the following lines;

How could he explain to them his prayer

That nature, not art, might usurp the canvas?

it is the nature that brings life into the canvas, art alone is
incapable of doing that.

“MY SOUL, WHEN I PAINT THIS NEXT PORTRAIT

LET IT BE YOU WHO WRECKS THE CANVAS”.