Opium: Picasso, Chopin and Oscar Wilde were all fans. Picasso shared it with friends, Chopin took it for the pain of TB and Oscar Wilde smoked it for pleasure

Power of the Poppy

Newbury Spring Festival: Opium: Seduction, Greed, Art

at Arlington Arts

on Tuesday, May 20

Review by AMANDA HOLLIDAY

Picasso, Chopin and Oscar Wilde were all fans of opium. Picasso shared it with friends, Chopin took it for the pain of TB and Oscar Wilde smoked it for pleasure.

On Tuesday, Amanda Herries gave a fascinating talk to the Arts Society entitled Opium – Seduction, Greed, Art. Amanda’s interests in social history and cross-cultural artistic influences produced a captivating account of the impact of opium on the lives of the global population. We were led on a voyage of discovery along the Silk Road, down the Ganges and across the seas and oceans. We learnt about a world in which trade routes were opened and Britain valued profit over the lives of Chinese citizens.

Opium poppies (papaver somniferum) were first cultivated in the Middle East in 4000 BCE. This bringer of relief from pain was welcome, especially during the crusades when opium was used to alleviate the effects of dysentery. In 14th century Britain it also eased the miseries of bubonic plague.

We were shown artwork advertising various products such as Lancaster Blackdrop or Dover Powder. These opium preparations were available over the counter. Ubiquitous in London society, opium was used by the whole family and if you had a colicky baby, one teaspoon of Mrs Winslow’s Soothing Syrup would sort the infant out. This dose contained the equivalent of 20 drops of laudanum (a mixture of opium and alcohol). Dorothy Wordsworth took opium for migraines and Elizabeth Barrett Browning used it to ease back pain.

Amanda gave examples of composers, writers, and artists who used the drug to enhance their creativity. Berlioz composed Symphonie Fantastique under its influence. Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale is full of opium references. 17th century symbolic Dutch flower paintings contain opium poppies. Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare depicts a comatose beauty and Gainsborough’s ‘Perdita’ Mary Robinson, wrote about taking opium. The ‘milk of paradise’ provided euphoria for many but for those such as addicted poet Thomas Chatterton whose troubled mind could not be quietened, an untimely death at 17 was inevitable.

An appreciative audience left Arlington Arts Centre reflecting on a very informative and thought-provoking presentation.

355 words including title