Just as Giorgio Vasari believed art from Firenze is above art created from all other city-states of “Italy” and beyond, I’ve always appreciated oil paintings more than other mediums of artwork. That’s why when I came across Columbus Circle at Night by Richard Estes, I was instantly drawn to look more. At first glance, I didn’t even think it was oil on canvas, but instead a photograph. This was due to Estes’s ability to paint the reflections of the street and building in striking, if not, perfect mirroring on the glass windows close to the viewers. Estes’s ability to paint the window’s reflection in such a realistic manner is something I greatly admire. I can imagine it must take such detailed skill to paint objects in mirrored reflections considering Estes would have had to take into account scale, color, and detail for all of the mirrored people/objects. Furthermore, coming from New York City, I really enjoy Estes’s ability to paint Columbus Circle (a very chaotic part of the city) into a very still and candid scene.
A sculpture by John Bradley Storrs also caught my eye during my visit. The sculpture made of travertine definitely would require a different type of craftsmanship. Since limestone is a very hard material, I would imagine Storrs would have needed the skill/tool to work with this type of material. However, I wouldn’t necessarily say this work depicts bad craftsmanship, but instead very different craftsmanship.
