THE COCKTAIL PARTY, Circa 1990
Blue Hill, Maine
" You realize, James, " Barbara said as she cupped her glasses, as to emphasize her point, "You must choose, you are either Roman or Florentine, you cannot possibly be both."
I stared vacuosly into my drink and nodded. A cocktail party on Parker Point was a long way from Italy. I didn't have the foggiest idea of what she meant. At the time I had only been to Italy once and the closest I ever got to Rome was the airport. She had lived there for years! "Wh...what exactly do you mean by that?" I finally stammered in response. She backed off slightly, giving me a look that was part surprise and part benign dismissal. "Guess you'll just have to find out for yourself," she said turning to give her attention to another, more worthy guest. "Oh," I muttered.
FAST FORWARD
FLORENCE
Florence
James Aponovich
pencil underdrawing, panel, 12" x 16"
Q. Although I do not as usual read "blogs", I was advised to follow yours by my American colleague, Kurt ( whom, I assume you know). I cannot disagree in its interest, however, in reference to your depiction of the City of Florence, I was astonished not to find the Badia and Bargello. For what reason did you omit them?
- Giancarlo A., Art Historian, Milan
A. It's not Florence, it's a painting ( I do not mean to be cheeky, refer to Matisse*)
* When Matisse was asked why he had painted a green stripe down the face of Madame so and so, he replied, " It's not Madame so and so, it's a painting!"
I admit that I have had a difficult time warming up to Florence. That does not necessarily mean
that 'I'm Roman', but Rome is a Baroque powerhouse, full of ostentatious grandeur, spectacle and over the top flavor. Florence, on the other hand is a Renaissance city, prone to a certain somberness and restraint, attributes that I am well familiar with living in New England. However, there is something in Florence that literally rises above all else.
IL DUOMO e IL CAMPANILE
Santa Maria Dei Fiori
Duomo (detail)
James Aponovich
pencil on panel, 12" x 16"
Brunelleschi's Dome and Giotto's Bell Tower, together dominate the city. For the most part, as you walk the streets you cannot see them, turn a corner and they tower above you, all out of human scale like a leviathan breeching. I have always wanted to paint them.
"This is insane, this is insane!"
-Tom B., Appliance Repairman, NH.
In the first light of the morning, I often draw at the kitchen island, my 'office'. I began a panel depicting Florence, after a sketch I had completed of the Duomo and Campanile from the top floor of Orsanmichele. It is pure fantasy, at that early hour, last nights dream cycle is easily conveyed into the buildings and streets of my imaginary yet real city on the Arno. When Tom, our friendly repairman was in the kitchen working on the fridge, he saw the panel on the island, picked it up, looked at it and kept saying, "This is insane..." Insane you say.... I'll show you insane!
SPLITTING A HAZELNUT
The Fairy Fellers Masterpiece
Richard Dadd ( 1817-1886)
oil on canvas, 21" x 15"
Richard Dadd was a Victorian English Artist contemporaneous with Lewis Carroll of Alice Through the Looking Glass fame. Dadd, however is not a recognizable name. In fact, even when he was alive he was referred to in the press as, "the late Richard Dadd!" I feel for him. This is his most well known painting, it was a commission of sorts and it took him some six years to complete, he had plenty of time on his hands.
The painting is quite small but utterly fantastic with every square inch crawling with minutiae. The scene is set with an erect woodsman about to split a hazelnut with his ax. All around are an hallucinatory assortment of fairies, Spanish dancers, Lords, dwarfs, and one spectacular grasshopper blowing on a long trumpet, well worthy of Bosch.
(detail with grasshopper)
(detail with Woodsman and ax)
Dadd used to say that he would stare at a blank canvas until forms started to emerge. Curiously, Leonardo da Vinci recommends throwing an ink soaked sponge against a wall and then observe the 'pictures' left behind, ever wonder where the landscape in back of the Mona Lisa came from?
Bt the way, the person who commissioned Dadd was the Warden of Bethlehem Hospital in England, what we now call Bedlem, Dadd was legally insane and spent the last forty years of his life there.
Brunelleschi's Dome and Giotto's Bell Tower, together dominate the city. For the most part, as you walk the streets you cannot see them, turn a corner and they tower above you, all out of human scale like a leviathan breeching. I have always wanted to paint them.
"This is insane, this is insane!"
-Tom B., Appliance Repairman, NH.
In the first light of the morning, I often draw at the kitchen island, my 'office'. I began a panel depicting Florence, after a sketch I had completed of the Duomo and Campanile from the top floor of Orsanmichele. It is pure fantasy, at that early hour, last nights dream cycle is easily conveyed into the buildings and streets of my imaginary yet real city on the Arno. When Tom, our friendly repairman was in the kitchen working on the fridge, he saw the panel on the island, picked it up, looked at it and kept saying, "This is insane..." Insane you say.... I'll show you insane!
SPLITTING A HAZELNUT
The Fairy Fellers Masterpiece
Richard Dadd ( 1817-1886)
oil on canvas, 21" x 15"
Richard Dadd was a Victorian English Artist contemporaneous with Lewis Carroll of Alice Through the Looking Glass fame. Dadd, however is not a recognizable name. In fact, even when he was alive he was referred to in the press as, "the late Richard Dadd!" I feel for him. This is his most well known painting, it was a commission of sorts and it took him some six years to complete, he had plenty of time on his hands.
The painting is quite small but utterly fantastic with every square inch crawling with minutiae. The scene is set with an erect woodsman about to split a hazelnut with his ax. All around are an hallucinatory assortment of fairies, Spanish dancers, Lords, dwarfs, and one spectacular grasshopper blowing on a long trumpet, well worthy of Bosch.
(detail with grasshopper)
(detail with Woodsman and ax)
Dadd used to say that he would stare at a blank canvas until forms started to emerge. Curiously, Leonardo da Vinci recommends throwing an ink soaked sponge against a wall and then observe the 'pictures' left behind, ever wonder where the landscape in back of the Mona Lisa came from?
Bt the way, the person who commissioned Dadd was the Warden of Bethlehem Hospital in England, what we now call Bedlem, Dadd was legally insane and spent the last forty years of his life there.
{week 28}
copyright 2015 James Aponovich
copyright 2015 James Aponovich
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