Caravaggio at the Columbus museum of Art

 Since artist live in art communities I thought I would write a bit about what is going on in my piece of the art world which is Columbus, Ohio. The intention was to engage with  local art and instead I find myself starting with an Italian artist who died in 1610.  Large billboards around my town have been reminding me that the Columbus Museum of Art is presenting a show centered around one painting; "Behold the Man" by Caravaggio. And because I had made my family march all around Rome looking at various paintings in multiple churches a few years ago,  I certainly couldn't ignore the one in my backyard. A single painting isn't much of a show, which meant that the museum was challenged to produce a bigger story. The museum brought together, in one space, paintings produced by artist from the 17th century which demonstrated how each emulated his style and/or imagery. I do find the work of curators interesting, and in this case, I found that concept of the show was more interesting than many of the paintings. That being said it is impossible to ignore Caravaggio's legacy as chiaroscuro, his method of describing form, is one of the guiding principles taught in most art schools.

Turning the corner from the Caravaggio room I saw this painting by another Italian artist, Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964). Obviously this work comes from a much different time and place.  I enjoyed seeing the painting as Morandi has interested me for many years. He painted simple objects such as bottles and jars, and these objects were always placed in the center of the table. His paintings seem to have a mixture of  humor and innocence.

There were many paintings that I enjoyed, many old friends that I hadn't visited in awhile. The last painting that I wanted to mention was this one painted by Matisse(1869-1954). He and Morandi were contemporaries and each painted a table top but not the same table top, and not the same world. I like this interior full of playful color. It is an image that I want to wrap around myself as I face another cold, gray, wet day in Columbus.