Invitation To Carnival - Reprise

   
     In my blog entry for last weekend, my thoughts about the poor response we have
made, to abate the pandemic, became my primary focus, so once again I didn't say
much about the painting.  I will try to correct that now, but I have to first take note
of some of the developments which have occurred this week.
     Things seem to be growing a bit darker with each passing day.  The death toll is
now nearly one hundred and fifty thousand, and we are loosing over a thousand more
victims every twenty four hours.  If that continues, more than a quarter million Americans
will have perished before our presidential election in November.  If we think about that,
it will be as if all the people in an American city of a quarter million, were wiped out
in just a matter of seven or eight months time, leaving nothing behind but the forgotten
dreams of its citizens, and a dead and abandoned city.
     Trump's falling, popularity-pole numbers have convinced his new campaign team,
that he has to start acting like he is concerned with the health and welfare of people
other than himself for a change.  So, he is finally saying that we should wear masks,
to slow the spread of the infections, but when he says that, his hollow sincerity level
is something like what we might hear if Pinocchio were president.

     Now, as to my choice of subject matter for the painting Invitation To Carnival,
the theme is probably self explanatory to some viewers, but some additional, factual
references and information may be helpful.  The well known Carnival of Venice, is a
popular, annual event in that fabled city.  During Carnival, people compete to win the
competitions for the most elaborate masks and costumes.  One of the more frequently
seen mask and costume variations, is that of the court jester or "fool", and another is
the mask of the plague doctor, a visual reference to the long history of plague in Venice.
The combination of those two characters seemed to reflect what is happening in
America today.   They symbolize the foolish, suicidal behavior in which some of us
are engaged, while our health-care professionals are struggling to cope with the mounting
toll of infections and deaths.
     I chose to leave the face mask of the fool, plain and understated, rather than
painted and jeweled, because I wanted to place the emphasis on the eyes of the
person, peering out of the holes, with a perhaps sinister motive, as he or she invites
the viewer to come to Carnival.
     The background figure is a hybrid combination of monk and plague doctor.
During the plague pandemics of Venice and the rest of Europe, the monks and other
tender, care-givers were among those most likely to fall victim to the disease, because
of their close contact with infected patients.   It was the plague doctors who wore
the face and head covering masks, with the big, bird beaks and goggle eyes.  They
also wore an outfit of full, protective covering, from head to toe, including boots
and leather gloves.  They stuffed their beaks with fragrant herbs or vinegar soaked
sponges to ward off the smells, which they considered the possible sources of the
infection, and they carried canes to uncover and examine patients from a distance.
There is an engraving by Paul Furst, from about 1791, of a plague doctor in Marseilles
he called Dr. Beeky of Rome.   I 'm showing that image here.

     Now that we better understand the origins and causes of new contagious diseases, our
dedicated, modern scientists are working rapidly to try and come up with a preventative
vaccine, and there seems to be some hope that this medical miracle could be available
next year, or even a bit earlier.    But in the meantime, an increasing number of homes
across America, will have newly vacant chairs around their dinner tables, and nightly,
tear-stained pillows on their beds.

                                                       Eugene P. McNerney