Ekphrasis

New York City is one of the culinary centers of the world, and there are many fine Restaurants, where people can indulge in a variety of food and beverages from worldwide cuisines.

Varriano discovered this little French gem on Manhattan’s Upper Eastside around the year 2000. He was out painting with his easel and was set up about twenty-five feet East of the Restaurant. The South West corner of Madison Avenue and sixty-Ninth Street had captured his attention and he had decided to paint it.

While he was painting, a number of the restaurant’s patrons would intermittently stop by to admire the work in progress. One fellow even commissioned Varriano to do a painting for him. They thought about a street scene since the gentleman liked what John was working on, but settled on the idea of a painting of the restaurant. It was the smaller commissioned painting that inspired Varriano to do this larger work.

He visited the location on various occasions making sketches in pencil and doing small studies in oil paint from which he created this painting.

Here is a fine example of Varriano's ability to orchestrate a large complex scene with multiple figures, and is a masterful example of contrasts. It is nighttime, and it is dark outside, but it is light inside the restaurant. The exterior is comprised of cool, dark blues, while the vibrant interior is incandescent with warm oranges, reds, and yellows.

The people are divided into intimate groups and clusters, gathered around different tables and enjoying the ambiance. A woman steps out to light a cigarette. Next to her, in the shadows, a Yorkshire terrier is tethered to a chair with a leash and lifts his leg to relieve himself. A couple waits patiently to be seated, while a seated fellow gesticulates with a glass of wine in hand.

To emphasize the feeling of a café on the street, Varriano has included a parking sign, the rear end of a car, and a parking meter. 

All are in good cheer as they listen to the charming music of the guitar players. We sense that we can smell the food, and the scene is so inviting that we wish we were there.