Musee des Beaux Arts

"The Old Master's; how well they understood it's human position". In Musee des Beaux Arts by W.H. Auden, the "Old Master's" understood that people often turned a blind eye to one another's suffering. It uses an analysis of one art form (paintings) by another (poetry) to make the statement about people's lack of interest in the suffering of others. The poem explores the depth of humanities indifference to one another. The "Old Masters' understood …

…someone dies. People eventually must pick up what is left of their lives, hopes, and dreams and get on with the business of living. Through it's analysis of Peter Brueghel the Elder's, Landscape with the Fall of Icaurus, the poem helps us to visualize human indifference. Perhaps through reflection on the poem and painting we can understand the ultimate callousness of human indifference and work on reacting to fellow human's suffering with respect and compassion.