That Sappho thing

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) produced a few drawings on the subject of Sappho. He was in his 'reduction to essentials' period. The image at the bottom right of this group is a good example of this technique.

Male artists who paint impressions of Sappho – 'impressions' because no one has any idea at all what she looked like – understandably go for the 'hot chick wearing little or nothing look'. Presumably it sold better. Here is Laurence Koe's amusing effort.

The reality was probably quite different. In 1493 the illustrator of the Nuremberg Chronicle came up with the medieval guess, below left, which seems more convincing than Koe's naked, lyre-playing chick – appealingly dominant, slightly butch, in fact. Below right we have our Sappho for the 21st-century, who, minus the motorbike of course, might be closer than any of them.

Who knows? One can still dream…