Ekphrasis

In this painting, John Varriano captures the  fast paced energy of New York City. The scene takes place on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where the young woman has just emerged from the cab behind her. She was supposed to be dropped off at the corner, but impatient with the traffic, decided to get out early and stop at the fruit stand. By the time the cab door slammed shut behind her, she had already grabbed an orange. In her left hand is a small money purse that she has not yet saved since paying the cab driver.

It is a spring day, as revealed by the sparkling green leaves that are just starting to bud, and have not yet reached their full summer bloom. The brilliance of the day has been beautifully expressed in the sun-dappled umbrella above the fruit. If we were to perform an experiment by blocking out all of the painting except the umbrella, we would still see and feel what a gorgeous day Varriano depicted in the painting.

Recently, a brief sun shower arrived and left, and the book vendor prudently covered his books with a blue tarp. Though neither the fruit stand owner nor the book salesman is present in the painting, we nonetheless feel their presence just beyond the scene’s border.

These detective-like techniques for reading a painting offer wonderful tools which, if used by the viewer and can add an extra level of enjoyment to those observing a work of Art.