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Monastery Library with Three Capuchin Monks. (Probably at the Abbey Chiusi della Verna.) |
Male Nude Model with Accordion in a Painter's Studio. |
I stumbled upon these two paintings separately, not realizing at first that they were created by the same artist. I think the two paintings display just the most wonderful contrast in mood and story. A hushed, almost painful restraint in one, a completely relaxed and happy lightness in the other. The compositions and lighting and coloration only underscore the contrast. One, save the blue at the window, is almost entirely monochromatic, the composition carefully theatrical. While the color and arrangement of details in the other seem quite random and naturalistic. Even the media highlights the difference, the thick and opaque oil paint versus the scratched pencil lines and transparent watercolor. Even in the choice and disposition of details. A large book - a bible or religious text? - gathering the brightest light, is the pensive monk's object of study and/or veneration. While, in the watercolor, a large book also plays a role; it serves as a posing block upon which the model rests his bare foot.
There were no dates available for either piece, but I suspect the watercolor may have been a later work.
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