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Our ersatz trip to Italy
May. 27th, 2005 07:09 amMy father and mother went to high school with a man named Richard Serrin, who is an amazingly talented oil painter of the old school. He paints like Rembrandt. My dad ran into him again at, I think, their twenty-fifth high school reunion and became extremely interested in Richard's situation. At that time, Richard was working as a church janitor on practically starvation wages, while he was working on four nine foot by nine foot canvases in the church basement: the Last Supper (see it here), the Trial, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Dad, with his typical energy, began a whirlwind fundraising campaign to enable Richard to finish the paintings, and to support him. Richard's wife really credits dad with saving him, as he had been about to give up his career in despair. Richard and Dorothy have been very good friends of the family ever since, although for many years Richard has been living in Italy, painting.
My brother had the brilliant idea to commission a painting from Richard to give to my parents, showing the entire extended family. Richard flew over to the States and took photographs of all of us, and used them to paint a portrait of my parents, their children and all of their grandchildren, all gathered in a casual crowd in an actual piazza in Italy in front of a fountain. (Dad, where is that piazza located again?) Some of the children, including Fiona and Delia, are sitting in a horse drawn carriage waiting to be taken on a tour, Rob and I are paying the driver, Dad and Chet are in the foreground studying a map. My sister Cindy, holding a camera, is pointing at a woman across the square. The portraits are absolutely lifelike. I have not seen the painting, but Dad sent me a .jpg file, and I have it up on my computer wallpaper.
I wish I could show it to you all, but of course I can't, not having the rights to do so. [Edited to add: I will ask my dad whether it would be possible for me to do so.] It makes me wistful, looking at it. There we all are, enjoying our vacation in Italy. Who knows if we will ever get there?
Read a little more about Richard Serrin here.
My brother had the brilliant idea to commission a painting from Richard to give to my parents, showing the entire extended family. Richard flew over to the States and took photographs of all of us, and used them to paint a portrait of my parents, their children and all of their grandchildren, all gathered in a casual crowd in an actual piazza in Italy in front of a fountain. (Dad, where is that piazza located again?) Some of the children, including Fiona and Delia, are sitting in a horse drawn carriage waiting to be taken on a tour, Rob and I are paying the driver, Dad and Chet are in the foreground studying a map. My sister Cindy, holding a camera, is pointing at a woman across the square. The portraits are absolutely lifelike. I have not seen the painting, but Dad sent me a .jpg file, and I have it up on my computer wallpaper.
I wish I could show it to you all, but of course I can't, not having the rights to do so. [Edited to add: I will ask my dad whether it would be possible for me to do so.] It makes me wistful, looking at it. There we all are, enjoying our vacation in Italy. Who knows if we will ever get there?
Read a little more about Richard Serrin here.
