The Nail oil on panel, 1998 22" X 20" Click on picture below for detail view. The idea for this painting came from a visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, while studying abroad. I saw a painting that was a Baroque deposition scene--that is , one where Jesus' followers take his body down from the cross. One detail of the painting fascinated me: the image of a fat little cherub holding up one of the nails from the cross, wearing an expression of abject horror. His concentrated gaze was especially striking since he focused not on the sight of Christ's dead body, but on this nail, as if somehow the nail itself was the source of all their suffering. Unfortunately, I didn't write down the name of the painting, but I couldn't forget the image of that cherub. Four yeas after I completed my Guilford thesis, a friend from Guilford, Naomi Seckel, identified the painting from the description above, using her super-genius powers of deduction and crackling knowledge of art history. She was even kind enough to send a picture (click on small picture at right). The painting is called The Lamentation, and was painted by the Flemish master Anthony van Dyck. After years of recalling it only hazily, it was shocking to see the real painting again. My thesis paintings revisited traditional religious subjects in contemporary settings. While this painting doesn't represent any particular biblical story, I thought of these kids as modern versions of that cherub.