Painter....Conrad Abrizio

Report by Velma Clements-Jones March 16 for one of her College Classes.....I enjoy reading things Velma writes and have her permission to share this....Plus its about Louisiana History..

      Conrad Abrizio, originally from New York,

has made quite a name for himself in the state of Louisiana.

The Union Passenger Terminal lobby is home to his last frescos, consisting of four huge panels;

one of the largest collections in the U.S. at the time of completion in 1957. (Irvin, 2009).

     Albrizio worked in true frescos, applying pigment to the texture and then applying the tinted plaster, much the same as the Italian masters in the 15th and 16th centuries (Irvin, 2009). He was commissioned to create a number of frescos for various state buildings and in 1937 he painted his first mural in Russellville, Arkansas; Rural Free Delivery (Cowan, 2010).
     Conrad Abrizio worked with a variety of medias, not only working in frescos and murals, but also doing canvas paintings, composition, etching, lithography, and mosaics; being commissioned to construct a mosaic to cover the bullet holes in the hallway where Huey P. Long was shot, which later was installed in the Louisiana Supreme Court Building (Cowan, 2010).

    Abrizio’s style was impressionistic as seen in his oil painting “Jordan”; depicting an African-American baptism. This piece of work captured my eye because the scene is alive with religious spirit. The people, on the banks of the river, are in the throes of the Holy Spirit moving amongst them, as they witness this person dedicating their life to Christ. His perspective is not to create a true likeness to actual people; adding harsh lines and details to the facial structure and sensual roundness to the body form. The viewer perspective appears to be from a point above the group, which also appears to be elevated away from the bodies in the water. The bodies displayed in the forefront also have a skewed perspective away from the center of the picture as well, growing smaller as it progresses from the central figures.