Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy at LACMA & My Nibblefest

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is a master painter of epic scale.  Until I went to see Bodies and Shadows at LACMA, I do not think I've ever had the honor of seeing one of his pieces in person.  They had eight of his original paintings.  Including those eight, the exhibition had 56 works in total.

The Apostle Saint Thomas by Diego Velázquez

It was against the rules to photograph any of the paintings by Caravaggio himself, but it was allowed to photograph some of the other paintings.  I took a number of them that I'd like to share, but I'm starting with these four.

Saint Mary of Egypt by Jusepe de Ribera

I've known Caravaggio to be a master of light and shadow, but the folds and drapes of the clothing worn by his subjects were just awe inspiring.

Jesus among the Doctors of the Faith - Master of the Annunciation to the Sheperds by undetermined artist of the Ribera circle

If you are at all in the Los Angeles area, I'd highly suggest a visit to LACMA before the exhibit ends on February 10th.  They also have an exhibit on Stanley Kubrick and I believe they'll let you see both in one visit for the same price.  To learn more about the details, please visit http://www.lacma.org.

Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene by Nicolas Régnier

I am linking this post with Inspire Me Monday
http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Before my visit, I finished painting this little original acrylic Nibblefest painting that's up for auction here.  The theme was five random things.  I chose a lucky cat, a cherry, a heart shaped nut shell, and a polka dot ribbon.  I haven't done a still life painting in quite some time, but I enjoyed doing this one, I hope you will enjoy it too!

I meant to post my finished bird of paradise painting on Friday, but I am, as yet, unfinished...  It's very close, I just haven't had the opportunity yet to finish it up.  I don't mind painting smaller paintings sitting down, but with larger paintings, I prefer to paint standing up.  My foot is still hurting me, but I've been to a podiatrist and hopefully I should be feeling more inclined to work on larger paintings soon.

Edit:  I was visiting Kristin's lovely blog and joined up a post of one of my paintings with her Snowflake Blog Hop, hop on over if you have the opportunity!