“My Moment with Mona” (2016)
by JM Brodrick (1954-)
20 x 38 in., acrylic on canvas
Coppola Collection

There is a lot to like about this painting. The intimacy suggested by the title “My Moment with…” contrasts with the hustle and bustle of the crowd who are all faded, literally and figuratively, into the background. The use of color and the angle of the woman’s stance and arms all get us to look in the direction she is looking (much the same way it happens when you walk out onto the street and everyone is looking at something). Our main subjects sit at exactly the same level as the Mona Lisa, they are framed by that painting in the background, and the question about who, exactly, is watching whom, is suggested by the equal weight and spacing that the subjects and Mona get on the canvas.

The general theme of people interacting with art is one I enjoy, and always a fun one for artists to play with. Two of my all-time favorite paintings in this genre are by Norman Rockwell.

“The Art Critic” (1955)
by Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
39½  x 36¼ in., oil on canvas
The Norman Rockwell Museum

“The Connoisseur” (1961)
by Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
37¾ x 31½ in., oil on canvas
Private Collection