Fragment of Wall Decoration c. 1940

Michael Lauretano made this fragment of wall decoration sometime between 1855 and 1995, and it looks like he used gouache and graphite. The palette is restrained, almost hushed – pinks, blues, grays and black dance together. I imagine Lauretano carefully applying thin washes, one after another, coaxing those muted tones to emerge. Look at how the column edges dissolve! There's a vulnerability to the touch, as if he's saying, "Here's what I see, roughly, approximately." That central floral motif – is it a memory? A dream? The leaves curve with a slight melancholy, echoed in the columns’ ornate carvings. I'm reminded of Marsden Hartley's explorations of folk art. Like Hartley, Lauretano seems to be excavating something primal, personal. Aren't we all just fragments searching for connection? In the end, it’s all a conversation, a passing of ideas across time.