"Creative Freedom: Women as Decorative Arts Entrepreneurs and Connoisseurs, c. 1901-1940"

 

    As part of its 60th anniversary celebration, St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Arts has mounted an exhibition celebrating the decorative Arts and Crafts movement of the turn of the 20th century, particularly the work of several women who had a huge impact, and it runs through February 1, 2026.  ( Exhibition Website )  The focus is on three particular women:

• Clara Driscoll (1861-1944): The unsung genius who designed many of Tiffany Studios' most iconic and beloved lamps.
• Maria Martinez (1888-1987): The legendary potter who transformed a centuries-old Native American craft into a celebrated modern art form with her signature black-on-black ware.
• Maria Longworth Nichols Storer (1849–1932): The brilliant founder of Rookwood Pottery, who merged artistry with industry to create an American institution.

    These women represent the dozens of women artists who were, for the most part, unrecognized and unknown as they designed and decorated products designed for the home - pottery, lighting, furniture, silverware, and glassware.  They worked for companies like Tiffany, Steuben Glass, and Rookwood Pottery, to name a few.  It was an era of revolutionary changes for women.  Across the country, women were fighting for the right to vote, and they were breaking barriers in education, business, medicine, law, government, and science, or at least trying to.  In the arts, women were still struggling to find avenues of self-expression, but working for a company like Tiffany or Rookwood allowed some women to do just that.  It was a job that even "respectable" women could hold, allowing them to both earn a living and to express themselves.  This small, but beautiful and educational, exhibit illuminates their careers and roles.

Rookwood Pottery

Baby rattles and teethers (teethers made of ivory)

"In Caravaggio's Light"

 

    Until March 22, 2026, St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Arts ( https://mfastpete.org/exhibition/in-caravaggios-light/ ) is hosting an exhibition of some forty Baroque paintings from the Roberto Longhi Foundation in Florence, Italy.  Longhi was a 20th century art collector and critic, an expert on Baroque art and especially on the life and work of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, famously known by one name, Caravaggio.  It's the first time that this collection has been exhibited together in the United States. 

    Caravaggio (1571-1610) is easily the most famous artist of the Baroque period.  The Baroque period was from approximately 1600 to 1740, and it was often sponsored by and endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church as a reaction to the Protestant Reformation.  Church officials sought to win back wayward souls from the growing Protestant sects which favored plainness and austerity, rejecting the over-the-top ornate opulence favored in Catholic churches.  Catholic officials used drama and emotion in art to stir feelings and emotions, not just intellect, often depicting the most intense moments of passion and trauma in  the Bible and in Catholic history.  Church officials and Catholic royals saw art as propaganda, a means to win and keep  their subjects' faith, and to keep it Catholic.  Baroque paintings are often large in scale, employ swirling forms and diagonal lines to impart the illusion of motion, making the scenes dynamic and exciting.  Baroque painters like Caravaggio became masters at using chiaroscuro, contrasting bright light and dark shadow to create focus and theatricality.  Realism and naturalism are also hallmarks of Baroque painting.  The humans and animals look like real people and animals, even in religious scenes.  Fleshtones are so  lifelike and realistic that the subjects seem like warm, living people.  The realism could be a bit too much at times, however.  Caravaggio's critics often fixated on the graphic violence and bloodletting that he  painted when he depicted the gruesome martyrdom of various saints and Old testament stories,  like Judith beheading Holofernes.  Caravaggio was not of sterling character himself inn the eyes of Church and civic officials.  He spent much of his short adult life trying to evade arrest and warrants that followed him from city to city.  He often engaged in violent brawls, associated with vicious gangs and prostitutes, and was even charged with murder.  Although his cause of death has been mysterious ever since it occurred, it is likely that he died as a result of a physical attack in Naples.

    There are only two Caravaggio paintings in the exhibit.  The rest were all painted by followers of Caravaggio.  They can't really be called students or be said to be of the "Caravaggio school," because Caravaggio was too busy brawling, insulting, and painting on the lam to ever take on apprentices, but their work reflects his style.  His influence continued long after his death, and it still continues.  The Museum of Fine Arts paired this exhibition with a very interesting collection of works from their own collection, reaching all the way into the 21st century, that echo elements of Caravaggio's work. 

    If you find yourself visiting St. Petersburg this winter, a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts is a must.

"Boy Bitten By Lizard"  and "Boy Peeling a Fruit" (one of his very early works)

 

Two (?) Artists, Two Revolutionaries

     In February, we had the pleasure of attending two exhibits focusing on two very different, but similar artists:  the 21st century anonymous street artist(s) Banksy and the late 19th/early 20th century French sculptor Rodin.  They work/worked in different media, and one's identity is unknown, but both were famous enough to be known by one name and forged their own, new path in art that diverged from the orthodox and mainstream.

    Last fall, I got word of a weekend long pop-up Banksy exhibit in the Tampa Bay area. In keeping with the air of mystery surrounding the artist, the location was to be revealed later. Also in keeping with the artist's persona, there was no official connection with Banksy whatsoever, not even a guarantee that the works featured were Banksy works. After all, the anonymous, suspected-to-be-British street and performance artist rarely signs or takes credit for his works, and they are often ephemeral, not meant to last. I bought tickets anyway. Several weeks later, I received an email stating that the dates would be rescheduled; there was some vague blame placed on Florida's hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Admittedly, I started to wonder if it all was a scam --- and wouldn't that be perfect for a Banksy exhibit? However, I eventually received the time and place in another email.

    The exhibit was a pleasant surprise. Obviously, ephemeral street art can't necessarily be moved around for exhibits, so many of the works were projected or shown in video displays. Nevertheless, there were 3-4 large-ish galleries filled with works that really made one think. Overall, it was an excellent show.

    The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg ( https://mfastpete.org/ ) has hosted an exhibit called Rodia and the Age of Impressionism since November and through March 26.  The featured works normally reside at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but that facility is being renovated, so the works got to travel. I'm a huge fan of Rodin's work; he's my favorite sculptor - well maybe tied with Michelangelo. The Imressionism, not so much. I can take it or leave it, preferably leave it, and, honestly, the exhibit doesn't really do much to explain the connection. Same time period, so what? But that's not what I went to see. I've been to the Rodin Museums in Paris and Philadelphia, and I've seen a few other Rodin exhibits. This one did not disappoint. Like Banks, Rodin was a revolutionary of sorts. While other French sculptors of his time were creating smooth, idealized beauties in bronze, his pieces are rougher, rugged, perhaps even leaning away from the beautiful, but every piece tells a story.