Sunday, February 15, 2026

Artnotes: Be Here Now

 

It’s hard to live in the present when it’s raining out.  All I   can think about is when it gets sunny and I can work in the yard, play with Berlino, go for a walk without my glasses steaming up… Yesterday we took advantage of our forced imprisonment and went to a museum.

We drove to Imola, just on the other side of Bologna.  It rained much of the way, but was just sprinkling when we parked the car.  We went to the Museo San Domenico, which we’d been to a few years before.  This time we went to see a show of Tomasso Della Volpe.  He painted in the early 1900s and is referred to as Il Romagnolo – coming from the Romagna part of Emilia-Romagna, and painting around Imola and Cesenatica, by the sea.   He knew how to use color – particularly cadmium red, one of my favorite hues.

It’s a beautiful little museum set in a cluster of buildings around a grassy courtyard.  Two young women, who spoke English, welcomed us.  They guided us to the show, and then helped us navigate the permanent collection.     I love this museum because it is completely “regional”.  Almost all the artists, from the earliest frescoes and icons, clear through the Futurists and even more contemporary ceramicists, are from around Imola.  Ceramics, from the Etrucans, Greeks (who both settled on the Romangna coastiline) and those originating from nearby Faenza, are featured prominently.    It is not an overwhelming collection – you can easily see it all in about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.  It is just right, as Goldilocks might say.  

Moonlight on Sea   Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  16 x 13” 44 x 33cm     390.00


There is also a film about Imola, started around 1050; and archeological finds from much earlier.   One of the things I actually like about AI and current technology is the ability to visually reconstruct the history of an area.  We followed the still extant medieval streets back to our car (on a slightly larger street).

In celebration of Valentine’s day, we went out to lunch.  This is our 45th Valentine’s day together.  It’s a holiday I’ve always liked.  As a girl, my father always bought me one of those red satiny heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, accompanied by a card.   In Paris, we always had fantastic chocolates; in Italy, there is Perugia. San Valentino was in fact, an Italian.   It’s a simple present holiday: LOVE IS THE THING. 

Tulip Two   Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper   17 x 12”    42 x 30cm  250.00

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