M I C H E L A N G E L O
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Which of these gents in this Sistine Chapel painting
is the famous Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo?
At the top of the painting we see Christ rendering
his last judgement on the fate of souls on this
final day of time; Mary at his side.
That is Saint Bartholomew sitting on a cloud,
to Christ's left. He holds a knife in one hand
and his own flayed skin in the other.
Bartholomew was martyred by being skinned alive.
The drooping face on the skin is that of Michelangelo.
There is no triumph in the manner of his own depiction.
He has been tasked with portraying the divine.
Now he is in despair.
I am not worthy.
F R I D A K A H L O
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It's a necklace of thorns she wears.
A dead hummingbird hangs near her neck.
The monkey over her shoulder busies itself
pulling her neckless, which increases her pain.
Here is Frida's desolation from a love gone bad.
She fell in love with the celebrated muralist,
Diego Rivera. The attraction was mutual
and they married. How could two people
made for each other screw things up so bad?
It was a tumultuous relationship, with each
having numerous affairs and revenge sex.
It all ended in divorce.
Temporarily.
A N D Y W A R H O L
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"I think somebody should be able to do all
my paintings for me."
Warhol wasn't into chasing for nirvana.
It wasn't in his DNA. He'd bring his own brand
of perfection. He found his inspiration in
soup cans, publicity shots of Marilyn Monroe
and corpses sprawled across scenes of highway
fatality.
You're looking for a painting to go over your sofa
but you don't have a lot of money to spend.
No problem.
I'm going to take an ordinary Bazooka bubblegum
wrapper. Blow it up to around thirty times its
original size. Now all I need is a sturdy backing
and a frame. No long hours will I spend fighting
the eccentricities of oil.
It's about appreciation.
Take something mundane. Present it
in a manner that has an air of intrigue.
Now you're seeing the world as a child would -
for the first time, and once again.
All for $49.95. Free shipping.
F R A N C I S B A C O N
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Vulnerability.
He faces himself at a time when his longtime lover
has died. One of those what's it all about moments.
He is uneasy about the future but he remains
contemplative. He is content, but with great
emotional intensity.
L U C I A N F R E U D
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Lucian always looked for unvarnished truth.
It had to express reality; not just in physical likeness
but also by providing some expression of the subject's
inner life. Here we see senior citizen Freud
in all his blemishes and wrinkles, skillfully rendered
with thick impasto strokes of oil.
C H U C K C L O S E
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Close was never healthy. His childhood was
a struggle with physical ailments of all sorts.
And he was dyslexic. At that time people mistook
his disability for just being slow.
Despite these setbacks Chuck Close became
a portrait artist of note. Then he was struck down
by a neurological condition that left him paralyzed.
Unable to use his arms Close gripped a brush
with his teeth to apply his paint. His portraits
evolved into a grid of squares, each in its
own fashion, to add life to a face.
Chuck Close became wealthy and famous.
He traveled between two splendid households
situated outside New York City. He socialized
with a wide group of friends. Life was good.
Then it wasn't. Suddenly Close walked away
from it all - his homes, his friends. His address
was now in a maze, sprawling with anonymous
apartments. He spent himself; frantic.
Painting self portraits, one after the other.
Life was a mosaic he needed to catch.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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