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When my writer’s group, the
Clearwater Branch of the National League of American Pen Women,
decided to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, we
really looked forward to seeing fine Italian works — still
life paintings, watercolors and works in stone — dating from
the 17th to mid-18th century. As we toured the museum, in fact, we
were pleased to see many beautiful, treasured pieces depicting
flowers, fruits and mosaic-like stone pictures brilliantly cut and
polished to represent the texture of leaves or clouds shown.
Fortunately for us this collection, drawn
from the larger collection acquired over the more than 200 years in
which the Medici family ruled and collected art, eventually was
given to the City of Florence. We saw some 43 works drawn from the
Florence collection.
However, as is typical at the Museum of
Fine Art some wonderful surprises met us in the rotunda lobby
— delights which, for the rest of the day, for us, gave a
kind of medieval fair flair to the visit. We were greeted by a
number of “Baroque” Italian guests folks garbed in
period costumes, welcoming us and strolling with us about the
galleries.
Next, came a cat. Well, not really a cat.
His stage name is Vic, The Magical Cat, his real name, Vic Austin,
formerly of Birmingham, England. In a moment, two of us allowed
ourselves to be spirited away by him to the patio gardens where we
and others passing through were treated to Vic’s
slight-of-hand with rings and coins and string, and, much of mind,
oh, yes, face painting!. And to think we had thought we had come
firstly to view still-life!
My colleague, Fran Mattucci, became a
cat-face! Fran is Nanny Fran (see her monthly column here in
Tropical Breeze) who owns a remarkable petsitting service. And now
she became a cat! This was fun. I only opted for a rose, however,
painted on just one cheek, mostly in honor of the flowers inspiring
many works in the exhibition as well as the not-coincidence in
names like Florida and Florence.
After a more traditional tour of the
exhibit galleries, back we sauntered to the garden patio area
again. This time we saw a remarkable collection of regional shells
displayed by Betty Lipe, treasurer of the St. Petersburg Shell Club
(727-430-8247). It seemed to fit in perfectly with the emphasis on
natural subjects and natural materials, the crux of the museum
exhibition.
Another special experience, this time in
the membership garden, related to Pietre Dura, the artworks
composed of a variety of materials such as slate or granite. There
was a table top in the mode and nearby, Dr. Laura Reiser Wetzel, a
professor of Marine Science at Eckerd College who explained some of
these beautiful stones. No wonder they were used to make
“paintings.” Both available and magnificent!
The morning turned out to be an art form
in itself, with lovely additional collections popping up, giving
the more formal exhibition a lively quality, and in great contrast
to its expected display of painting with permanent items, items
never moving, even several centuries ago. We saw the achievement of
light in these works and also of dark. We saw it through the
inventive and appreciative, long-ago eyes, and also through our
right now experiences with all these other slices of life in the
gardens and robes and velvet gowns found among us. Thanks to the
many artists, the Medici Family and our contemporary art world,
wise enough to provide us with this opportunity.
The day was what I call a picture within a
picture — an authentic collecting adventure!
• • •
“Natura Morta: Still Life Painting
and the Medici Collections” runs through Sun., Mar. 18 at the
Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg. Call
727-896-2667.
© 2007 Rosemary Lee Potter. All
Rights Reserved.
Rosemary Lee Potter is a confirmed victim
of the collecting bug and can be reached by e-mail at
rosemary_potter@msn.com or write to her in care of Tropical Breeze,
P.O. Box 585, Safety Harbor, FL 34695.
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