Katie Rubright

Grant awarded Spring 2013

Website:

http://katierubright.com/

With the Kossak grant I was able to encounter hundreds of works of Italian art that had lived in my mind for many years. It felt extravagant to plan an entire trip around my looking, which is what made it one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I have always felt a strange kinship to Renaissance painting, both Northern and Italian, and envy the clarity of their visual communication. Translating mystical and spiritual experiences into relatable two-dimensional scenes is no small feat and one many Renaissance painters mastered.

I was moved by many of the paintings I saw in my travels, but none more than the Giotto frescoes housed within the Scrovegni Chapel in Italy. The austerity of the exterior did nothing to prepare me for the splendor covering every surface within the chapel. Giotto’s careful observations rendered each scene in realistic space with exquisite details. I was also unprepared for the emotional intensity of the figures and the depth of Giotto’s psychological understanding. After talking with a guard in a mixture of sign language and broken English and Italian, I was able to remain in the chapel while he whisked everyone in my group out and another group in, affording me about three minutes of total silence alone in this majestic room. It was an ineffable and truly breathtaking experience.

The trip’s affect on my painting is difficult to methodically demonstrate. It’s more of a feeling that still remains with me almost three years after returning, a seriousness that seeped its way into my work without my even knowing. The masterpieces I saw in Italy made me want to up my ante, to gain technical skills that I had approached more casually before. I have a lifetime of investigations ahead of me into painting, but I am grateful for both the depth of knowledge that accompanied my journey to visit these paintings, as well as the depth of my delight at having the opportunity to stand in front of them.