Among the visual influences from my college years that were among the most powerful, and continue now forty years later, are the paintings of Matisse and Russian icons. I’ve been fortunate to see some amazing Matisse exhibitions over the years, including the fabulous MOMA retrospective 1n 1992. I’ve taken some classes in icon painting in egg tempera, seen the stray icon here and there in museums, and visited the wonderful Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA.
It took all this time to finally get to the mother lode itself, Russia. My husband and I took a trip this past May to Moscow, towns of the Golden Ring, and St. Petersburg, and I was intoxicated and inundated by the wealth of icons, frescoed churches, Matisses, folk art, medieval architecture, the collections of French art at the Pushkin Museum and the Hermitage, the Hermitage itself . . . for a painter who was looking for a visual jolt to shake her up, this was far more and better than I had imagined, though I’d been imagining this trip for decades. It was Art Heaven, at least for this painter. I returned with my head stuffed with images.
Now – what to do with them? That is the mystery. I have to humbly allow myself to play, make mistakes, go down wrong roads, experience technical difficulties, have some moments that move me forward, and not have much of an idea what the end result may be.
But if you love art and have a chance to visit Russia, GO.
