The courtly life of the Renaissance evolved to the salon of the 18th and 19th centuries and finally to the TV room of the 20th; courtesans were still watching from the sidelines.
The inspiration for this painting was the great source of American culture, The Reader’s Digest Family Treasury of Great Painters, given to me by one of the models who posed for the painting.
Vittore Carpaccio’s Truthful View of the Empty Tragic Life” has been set with contemporary women in their “Better Homes and Gardens” interiors. The TV is set to a painting by Degas, “The Rehearsal,” which the same book describes as using a Japanese device to slice through the subject. Degas’ image has been further sliced, symbolizing the sliver of culture that makes the hours in front of the TV worthwhile.