Street Painting In The Rain - Florence, Italy

Cari Amici,
I debated about whether or not to bother with street painting on Saturday, May 17th. The chance of rain was 50/50 and I have so much work to catch up on, but I really need to earn some euros. So, I worked in the studio during the morning and watched the sky on occasion.

My friend Francesco came by two days before on his way to rowing and said hello while I was working. He later told one of my roommates that although he liked the drawing I was doing (a copy of a Bouguereau), he wondered if I might connect with my audience more if I drew something Italian or better – from the Uffizi. I have heard from many Italians over my years here that there is an interesting dynamic occurring in Florence between depending on the Renaissance for fame and beauty, and wanting to birth new art. Some feel that Florentines are generally having a difficult time with change. It is easy to understand the desire to change when your past is not so desirable, but what if your past is really great?

Allora, I decided to try a work from a famous character in Italian art history, the artist Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio. The work I am copying here is the “Sick Bacchus” from 1593. At least one American remembered that he had seen the original work when he and his wife visited the Galleria Borghese in Roma.

I rather enjoy the shapes of the lights in the face of this figure. I like the abstract quality in this method of working that I am learning here in Florence. I am still struggling with the brightness of pastels. I always seem to be looking for the darker colors and feel a bit limited. But I am sure that I simply need to learn more about color.

I had some strange experiences on this day with audience reactions. I was on my hands and knees, as is often necessary for viewpoint/perspective reasons. And a man walked around to the top of my drawing and asked me if I spoke Italian. I responded, “Si, poco,” with the waggling hand gesture of “a little bit.” And in Italian he said, “It is dangerous for you to work in that position.” He actually used the word ‘pericoloso’ (dangerous). And he waved and walked away. Wow. What am I supposed to do with that? Well, at least he walked around to speak to my face! ;-)

Later on, during the rain, another man walked by and said, “Caravaggio e incazzato.” [That does not look right for some reason (vowels, I think).] The thing is that it was spoken quickly as the man was walking away from me and I simply heard ‘Caravaggio’ and ‘cazzo’. That latter word is Florentine slang for a man’s member and is considered vulgar, even while it is used quite frequently in the streets of Firenze.

Not wanting to jump to conclusions about a potential insult, I asked Matteo, my fellow home-bound madonnaro, to explain. He told me that the man was saying that Caravaggio was angry now. Ok, I understand the words, but the meaning? Was the original artist upset that I was recreating his work in the streets or . . . Matteo said in Italian, “No, he means that Caravaggio is angry because the rain interrupts your work.”

And later, my coinquilina (roommate) Elena explained the different words that I had confused. ‘Incazzato” means angry, but a very strong, passionate word compared to the more usual ‘arrabbiato’ or ‘furioso’. She suggested that a “lady” might not use ‘incazzato.’ So, I sometimes swear like a sailor (as my father laments) in English, and if I keep hanging out in the streets, maybe I can soon start sounding like a Florentine!

I asked a couple of tourists to take some shots of me while working and include a couple here. In these, I have taken some powdered pigment (black) that I bought at Zecchi’s Art Store and am spreading it around by rubbing it into the pavement. Some madonnari mix the powder with alcohol or water and apply it with a brush, but since the rain was about to start, I figured I could just play in the “mud.”

One thing that I have learned from the rain is that once the drawing is wet, it is best not to touch it. My colleagues have taught me that if I cover the part I want to draw next (if I do not have enough plastic to cover all), then once the rain subsides, I can uncover the pavement and continue working in a new section.


Shortly after this last image was taken, I left. The rains were off and on and I decided that my time was better spent working in the studio. I have two charcoal drawings in the upcoming exhibit:

2008 Annual Exhibition of the Angel Academy of Art
Via San Niccolò 88/r
Florence, Italy
Tel. 055 246 6737
Dates: 23-24 May (Maggio) 2008, Friday and Saturday hours: 10:00-18:00
Reception: 22 May (Thursday evening): 18:00-21:00

Since I work at the school, I will be very busy this week, cleaning up the studio and helping install and strike the exhibit. I hope to share this exhibit with you as events unfold.

Thank you for reading!