About

This is a powerhouse of a painting and an extraordinary study of physiological expression. In it, John Varriano exhibits many of the best qualities of painterly realism. The anatomy is beautifully rendered, and the tone, color, and lighting are exquisitely handled.

Equally filled with psychological depth, this painting invites the viewer to peel back the layers and immerse ourselves in the revelations Varriano presents.

Chef’s are known to be temperamental individuals. This man however, goes far beyond that classification. He is the human equivalent of a volcano on the verge of eruption. His right hand is extended forward, with the forefinger slightly raised in a gesture indicating that it is time for us to leave. In an air on nonchalant dismissiveness, he hasn’t even bothered to raise his forearm from the counter, as though that finger is enough to convey his message.

His head is tilted downward, but his eyeballs are raised in a definitive expression of contempt, as his lips are curled into a show of disgust. His chin is pressed down into his short, thick neck and his eyebrows are confrontational. If you found yourself in the mountains of the rain forest and were confronted by a silver-back gorilla, you would not want to see that expression on its face. His left hip is thrust up and out, while his right side is lowered, and his left shoulder is thrown upward, with the back of his left hand resting on his raised hip.

He has assumed the Classic Greco-Roman pose known to Art Historians as ‘Contrapaosto’. If he were naked, he might even look like a Greek Deity such as Hercules, or perhaps Silenus, the companion of Bacchus, the god of wine.

As the knife pointing out of the canvas and toward the viewer indicates, he has just gutted the fish. One of his discarded plastic gloves is still dangling, inside out, on the stainless-steel wagon. We feel a sense of relief that he has chosen the profession of chef rather than surgeon, not because of skill, but because of temperament.

Varriano masterfully uses the environment to reinforce the mood and convey the message of the painting. The kitchen is filled with dangerous things. The flame of the grill, the sharp knife, the alcohol in the wine glass that he has been sipping.  By far the most potentially dangerous element in the kitchen seems to be The Chef himself.

Don’t aggravate him, or you might just end up like one of those fish!

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