Roitburd VS Caravaggio. Opus #009 2009

Roitburd VS Caravaggio. Opus #009 is by Alexander Roitburd, a painter who passed away recently, leaving a hole in the art world. Here, he's seemingly taken a Caravaggio painting, and added a layer of colourful, cartoonish lines over the top. It's like he’s not just looking at the old master, but also talking back to it. The original painting underneath has a serious darkness, a high drama. Then Roitburd comes along and draws these bright, almost silly lines all over it. Look at the way the colours sit on the surface; they don't blend, they clash. This creates a tension, a kind of visual argument. It's as if Roitburd is saying, "Okay, Caravaggio, I see your drama, but I'm going to add my own layer of chaos and playfulness." Roitburd reminds me a bit of Francis Picabia who also had a playful approach to appropriated imagery, using humour to explore the boundaries between past and present. Ultimately, Roitburd's work invites us to question what we see, and how we see it.