I’m OK with Being One-Dimensional; Apricots Made Me Giddy

On this Winter-precipitation-mélange-morning here, it would appear that I am not the first one to be obsessed with the fruits of Summer when it comes to the subjects of great oil paintings down through history.  I may, however, just be the only one obsessed as I am today, and for the reason I am today……

Yes, I was intoxicated by the Girl With the Pearl Earring on Tuesday at the Frick Collection and I am so glad I went to see her – and the Rembrandts, and the Renoir and the Degas….. Vermeer’s work is incredible.  It is hard to find the right word to describe how he captured the expression around her eyes and mouth – much more powerful in person than in photos.  You can stand there and stare at her for long periods of time – somewhat like looking at the Mona Lisa – but this girl is much more beautiful, to me, anyway.  Both portray a degree of mystery in their expression which is unforgettable.   However, the painting that I actually became giddy about was:

 Still Life with Five Apricots by Adriaen Coorte at the Frick Collection

This is the same reaction I had last March when I saw:

 Pierre-August Renoir Peches, at Musée de l’Orangerie

Picasso, also in the game:

Paul Cézanne Still Life with Cherries and Peaches

Ok, so I am in a great period of self-deception, and dreaming of the days of Summer when there are REAL bowls of Cherries and Peaches and Apricots on my kitchen counter……..

and, realizing that it is indeed Winter with this happy painting:

There’s really no explaining why certain things just “hit” you, is there?  You’re just walking along, minding your own business and POW, something just strikes you, you stop and glare.  Your whole being has a visceral reaction, and you become obsessed.  In the case of the amazing art pieces shown above, I am definitely obsessed.  And I do admit to spending time wondering what went through the minds of these artists when they were painting these pieces.  How I wish I could embody them, crawl into their psyches, even if for just a tiny moment and feel what they were feeling………

There is no doubt,  is there, that many great artists of the world loved beautiful fruits and found them a formidable, if not sensual subject for painting.  Perhaps they loved thoughts of Summer in the dead of Winter as well.  (We all know how perpetually dismal the weather is in Paris in Winter.)  Anyway, for whatever reason they chose to paint these beauties, I am grateful.

Tangentially, my family has begun to accuse me of being One-Dimensional – that is, they say,  all I read about, talk about, search out, make and obsess over is FOOD.  I actually disagree with this characterization, as I think I have many and varied interests and obsessions these days.  But,if their definition of being One-Dimensional is being obsessed with:

• baking
• all other desserts
• recipe creation
• food writing
• food history and anthropology
• European History
• food in art
• roasting, cooking, braising, grilling, sautéing, simmering, browning, steaming, sun-drying, macerating, re-hydrating
• growing food
• farmer’s markets
• everything about Italy all their food and the Roman Empire
• everything about France, their history of pastry, bread and the French Revolution
• everything about Austria, their history of great pastry and the Hapsburg Empire
• California
• Alice Waters and her great contribution to the American Food mindset
• photographing food and nature and my favorite venues
• trolling around pots and pans stores and antiques shops
• recipe collecting
• copper pots
• flowers, flowers, flowers, floral and garden design
• study of color in landscape, food styling, home decorating and inspiration
• history of great cities
• Greece
• Turkey
• Morocco
• Great Pastry Chefs of the World, Past and Present
• New York City, the good, the bad and the ugly
• great tastemakers of contemporary America, like Carolyne Roehm
• great architecture of the world
• olive oil, history, culture and harvest
• balsamic vinegar, viticulture, aging and tasting
• capers and the Isle of Pantelleria
• Cherries and Peaches and Apricots and Melons and Plums
• Summer food (eaten in Summer clothes, sitting in Summer air)

…… then, I’m Ok with this…….. and, I will remain forever a dullard and one-dimensional………

Going off now to research other beautiful paintings, the subject of which is food and then back to NYC, the City that Never Sleeps for fun, roaming and learning.

my own little artwork from this morning