Modern Art and the Emperor

This thread traces how Gregory’s certainty that modern art is fraudulent gives way to a more complicated understanding of artistic authority.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Lesson of the Emperor

Rehearsing a Verdict A Phrase to Memorize Gregory teaches Rabo to say that the emperor has no clothes whenever anyone praises modern art. He presents the line as a weapon against people he regards as swindlers and fools. A Borrowed Judgment The lesson trains Rabo to repeat Gregory’s certainty before he has developed an independent view. Their relationship makes artistic taste a test of obedience as much as a matter of looking.

The Museum as Betrayal

Loyalty Put to the Test A Forbidden Institution Rabo and Marilee visit the Museum of Modern Art despite Gregory’s command. Gregory sees their happiness as a mockery of the life he has devoted to painting. Authority Exposed His reaction reveals that he fears more than bad taste: he fears losing control over the people whose loyalty affirms his own worldview. The scene turns modern art into an occasion for personal emancipation.

The Judgment Suspended

A More Open Audience Rabo as Interpreter Rabo explains the foyer’s Victorian pictures to Soviet visitors, who change their response after hearing about the girls’ imagined futures. His willingness to interpret them complicates his earlier dismissal. Art Without a Final Court The visitors’ reaction suggests that pictures can acquire meaning through attention and context. Rabo increasingly doubts the authority of any single judge to decide what images can mean.

Gregory’s first night with Rabo in New York

Saint Patrick’s Day, 1936

In 1987, after Circe disputes Rabo’s collection