What Made You Fall in Love?

There was a post on NPR's blog by prominent reporter Robert Krulwich on March 7th but should be thought of often: Boy Meets Painting. Painting Grabs Boy. Boy Mystified.

What was the first thing to ever grabbed you? When? Have you ever been able to explain it? In this blog Krulwich describes his 8 year old little self being completely and utterly grabbed by a piece of artwork, a Cezanne. He asks the question, "How did Cezanne do this to me? I was 8!". One of my favorite blurbs is when Krulwich is describing the painting and remembering the first time he saw it at the Museum of Modern Art. "Paint became tree; tree became paint."

Detail of: Paul Cezanne, French, 1839-1906

Pine and Rocks (Fontainebleau?), c. 1897

Oil on canvas

Take a minute, it will really only take you probably two to read this quick blog post. Then think back to what is was that you saw that made you fall in love with art. Why are you making or writing about art? What GRABBED you?

This is mine.

Francesco Mosca, called Moschino, Italian, 1525-1578
Atalanta and Meleager with the Calydonian Boar, ca. 1564-1565
Carrara marble

I don't know why, but I have ALWAYS adored this piece. It drew me in instantly. Perhaps it was the size (the picture doesn't do it justice but it's huge; can you see the tiny text label off to the left?). Perhaps it was the emense detail carved into STONE. Who knows but every time I am home I have to stop by and see my old friends living at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. And just like Krulwich, they said, 'Me too... and we have been talking ever since.'