Oils with Galkyd Light on canvas, 20” x 24”
To act!
While, gripped by frenzy,
I no longer know what I’m saying or doing!
And yet... I must... Force yourself!
Bah, are you a man? You’re a clown!
Put on your costume and powder your face.
The audience pays and wants to laugh.
And if Arlecchino steals Colombina from you,
laugh, Pagliaccio... And everyone will applaud!
Turn into jest your anguish and your sorrow,
into a grimace your sobs and your grief...
Laugh, clown, at your broken love,
laugh at the pain which poisons your heart!
An image I’ve painted several versions of, and probably will paint many more versions of. Inspired by ‘Vesti la Giubba’ (above) from Pagliacci, and by Queen’s ‘The Show Must Go On’, two pieces that I’ve often felt are related in theme if not in form.