Pictures from Rome
This series speaks to the golden era for Hollywood Greek and Roman “spectacular” films in the 1950s. Pictures from Rome depicts various stories and ideas of Rome throughout its imagined history. Some explore ideas of the Fall of Rome. In The Last Mussel, a decadent table is spread with shellfish that is empty or decaying except for one mussel in its shell, alluding to the last flash of Roman decadence before it was sacked. Baptism of Pan shows the hooves of the pagan god Pan immersed in turbulent water, baptized and neutered during the Christianization of Rome.
Other works focus on figures, and employ conventions of cinema in their shortening of space and close-up framing. These are more than just portraits—nearly every figure is in a narrative moment. Mary Magdalene appears to be listening intently, or just on the verge of speaking. Venus in Cicero’s Pool is clearly looking at something “off-screen.” The framing creates an imminence in each work that links them together, allowing the viewer to fill in stories in different ways.
Paintings by Series
