Candle Hat

Candle Hat


In most self-portraits
it is the face that dominates:
Cezanne is a pair of eyes swimming
in brushstrokes,
Van Gogh stares out of a halo
of swirling darkness,
Rembrant looks relieved
as if he were taking a breather
from painting The Blinding of Sampson.

But in this one Goya stands well back
from the mirror and is seen posed
in the clutter of his studio
addressing a canvas tilted back
on a tall easel.

He appears to be smiling out at us
as if he knew we would be amused
by the extraordinary hat on his head
which is fitted around the brim
with candle holders,
a device that allowed him to work
into the night.

You can only wonder what it
would be like to be wearing
such a chandelier on your head
as if you were a walking dining room
or concert hall.

But once you see this hat
there is no need to read
any biography of Goya
or to memorize his dates.

To understand Goya
you only have to imagine him
lighting the candles one by one,
then placing the hat on his head,
ready for a night of work.

Imagine him surprising his wife
with his new invention,
the laughing like a birthday cake
when she saw the glow.

Imagine him flickering through
the rooms of his house
with all the shadows flying
across the walls.

Imagine a lost traveler knocking
on his door one dark night
in the hill country of Spain.
"Come in, " he would say,
"I was just painting myself,"
as he stood in the doorway
holding up the wand of a brush,
illuminated in the blaze
of his famous candle hat.

Billy Collins

Posted over on Poemhunter