The most striking feature of this painting is its three simple blue lines. Rich, rhythmic, quixotic pillars of color, they hold your eyes and stake your measure. And apparently they have a story to tell.
But that story starts on the reverse side. There you will find the handwritten words "lapis lazuli", along with the currently assigned painting title, several Pat Lipsky signatures and two different dates: 2005 and 2006. There are also faint traces of notes that appear to read "you look like Manet" to the left of the center stretcher bar, and "van der Weyden The Descent From the Cross" along with "Prado" to the right. Oh, where to begin...
The title currently associated with this painting, and the one I list as well, likely references Valesquez's Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, which is in the collection of the National Gallery in London. In the upper right corner of Valesquez's painting is Christ draped in the most striking color of the picture -- a blue robe that sets quite a contrast to the colors throughout the rest of the painting. Could that be lapis lazuli? And could that mean the three blue bars, in an almost holy trinity of sorts, are Valezquez's Christ? The other colors in Lipsky's painting seem to support the rich blue in much the same way the rest of Valesquez's painting does too. If you are able to load both paintings on your screen, go back and forth and back again. It's a tantalizing connection.
It's even more intruguing when you see this against Rogier van der Weyden's The Descent from the Cross, currently in the collection of the Prado in Madrid. In Weyden's painting, it is Mary who wears a blue robe in an interesting reversal of roles. Now put Weyden's painting up on your screen as well. Go back and forth and over and back and over again. VERY cool. Could this be Lipsky linking the three paintings eternally?
It's also well documented that Manet's favorite painter was Velazquez who he often referenced for many of his own paintings. So if Lipsky looks like Manet, it would make sense she would turn to Velazquez to inspire her own painting. But to add a bit more to the mystery, the one label that remains on the center stretcher bar presumably from the Elizabeth Harris Gallery where the painting once resided seems to indicate the title of the painting was originally "van der Weyden....".
This is quite the rabbit hole, full of the theories that would make Dan Brown proud. Regardless how you wish to consider it, it's a fun way to look at it. Or you can simply enjoy the painting for what you see right in front of you: a humming chorus of symphonic color that will catch your eye at every glance. A mastery of paint best witnessed IRL.
Pat Lipsky, After Kitchen Scene, Christ + Velazquez, 2006, oil on canvas
Take it home, hang it on the wall in that just-right spot, or move it around a bit, live with it for a bit. And if you find for whatever reason it's simply not perfect for you, we'll take it back. No questions asked. You will receive a full refund for the price of the painting. But please note that any custom framing that was done for you cannot be refunded.
