Masonic, Occult and Esoteric Online Library
H.P. Blavatsky The Light-Bringer
By GEOFFREY A. BARBORKA
H. P. Blavatsky—The Artist
THE LITERARY achievements of H. P. Blavatsky undoubtedly provide the testimonial that she acted as the light-bringer of the Ancient Wisdom to the western world. This achievement naturally obscured her other talents which are deserving of more recognition. It is fitting that her artistic abilities should be described. Thus the word artist, which has a dual significance, may well be applied to her. Although she did not work with a brush and palette and do oil paintings, nevertheless her pen and ink sketches were truly artistic creations and her cartoons clever and humorous. In addition, she worked in a distinctive field, because she could produce a picture without pen or pencil or brush by precipitation, by kriyasakti (literally by will-power alone). The best way of describing her ability in this field is to quote Col. Olcott's account of how she made a unique portrait. No pencil or crayon work would be able to duplicate it; nor could an artist with a brush.
At the close of dinner we [W. Q. Judge, L. M. Marquette, M.D. and H. S. Olcott] had drifted into talk about precipitations, and Judge asked H.P.B. if she would not make somebody's portrait for us. As we were moving towards the writing-room, she asked him whose portrait he wished made, and he chose that of this particular yogi, whom we knew by name as one held in great respect by the Masters. She crossed to my table, took a sheet of my crested club-paper, tore it in halves, kept the half which had no imprint, and laid it down on her own blottingpaper. She then scraped perhaps a grain of the plumbago of a Faber lead-pencil on it, and then rubbed the surface for a minute or so with a circular motion of the palm of her right hand; after which she handed us the result. On the paper had come the desired portrait and, setting wholly aside the question of its phenomenal character, it is an artistic production of power and genius...The yogi is depicted in Samadhi, the head drawn partly aside, the eyes profoundly introspective and dead to external things, the body seemingly that of an absent tenant. There is a beard and hair of moderate length, the latter drawn with such skill that one sees through the upstanding locks, as it were—an effect obtained in good photographs, but hard to imitate with pencil or crayon. The portrait is in a medium not easy to distinguish : it might be black crayon, without stumping, or black lead; but there is neither dust nor gloss on the surface to indicate which, nor any marks of the stump or the point used : hold the paper horizontally towards the light and you might fancy the pigment was below the surface, combined with the fibres.
A well-known American artist of t hat epoch provided this testimonial regarding the portrait: it is 'unique, distinctly an "individual" in the technical sense; one that no living artist within his knowledge could have produced.'! The yogi's name is Tiruvalluvar. Mahatma K. H. wrote to Sinnett in regard to this phenomenal portraiture by Mme. Blavatsky:
She can and did produce phenomena, owing to her natural powers combined with several long years of regular training, and her phenomena are sometimes better, more wonderful and far more perfect than those of some high, initiated chelas, whom she surpasses in artistic taste and purely Western appreciation of art —as for instance in the instantaneous production of pictures : witness her portrait of the 'fakir.
Another striking example of her artistry is H.P.B.'s portrayal by means of a pen and ink sketch of tw o opera singers, drawn on page 24 of her Sketchbook. It depicts not only their roles in the opera in which they performed—that of Gounod's Faust—but also graphically tells who they are, namely Teresina Signora Mitrovich and her husband Agardi Mitrovich, and where they were performing, in Tiflis on April 7, 1862. Signora Mitrovich is portrayed as Marguerite, absorbed in prayer before a crucifix, while there is no doubt as to the personification of the individual who is glancing with evil eyes over Marguerite's shoulder—Mephistopheles.
Mention was made of the use of the word artist in a dual sense : the first usage has been applied to one who is proficient in portraiture. The second use of the term is often applied to a polished musician. In this sense it is also applicable to H.P.B., for she was a gifted pianist. Dr Corson in his book about Mme. Blavatsky writes :
My mother described to me how H.P.B. would sit down at the piano and improvise with great skill, showing a remarkable efficiency for one who played but at odd times as the spirit might move her. Her biographers have not dwelt at any length on her musical talent. Her cousin, Count Witte, in his Memoirs, refers to this musical talent at some length.
Col. Olcott enthused over H.P.B.'s playing :
She was a splendid pianist, playing with a touch and expression that were simply superb. Her hands were models—ideal and actual—for a sculptor and never seen to such advantage as when flying over the keyboard to find its magical melodies. She was a pupil of Moscheles, and when in London as a young girl [lady], with her father, played at a charity concert with Madame Clara Schumann and Madame Arabella Goddard in a piece of Schumann's for three pianos. Some weeks after the above was published I learned from a member of her family that shortly before coming to America, H.P.B. had made some concert tours in Italy and Russia under the pseudonym of 'Madame Laura.'
During the time of o ur relationship she played scarcely at all. Once a cottage piano was bought and she played on it for a few weeks, but then it remained closed ever after until sold, and served as a double book-shelf. There were times when...she would sit in the dusk sometimes, with nobody else in the room beside myself and strike from the sweet-toned instrument improvisations that might well make one fancy he was listening to the Gandharvas, or heavenly choristers. It was the harmony of heaven
William Kingsland provided this reminiscence :
I well remember on one occasion, on a visit by her to my house in London in 1889, she sat down at the piano and played Schubert's Erl-Konig, to my great surprise and delight, as I had never even heard that she had even been a pianist.f
Her sister Vera, speaks of 'her musical talents and of the fact that she was a member of the Philharmonic Society in London.
