Annie Cabigting continues tackling art in her two new oil pieces, this time, focusing on “the back of Mona Lisa.” Titled, Dietro Mona Lisa, the works have undergone two stages of restoration over the years, one with the brace and the other without. Both are almost in exact dimension as the original “Mona Lisa.”
Cabigting recalls, “My original idea was to make one painting. But recently, [art conservators] seem to have found a second [Mona Lisa]. So it made sense to have a second one.”
“I always consider the physical space where a painting will hang,” adds Cabigting. “When I was given a schedule to exhibit at West Gallery, I knew right away to take the wall that was behind glass, which made sense because the Mona Lisa at the Louvre is behind protective glass.”
Doing “back of painting” works can be such a meticulous process, requiring Cabigting to pursue intensive research and readings. But Cabigting, a confessed recluse, isn’t complaining. She’s happy with being able to mount an average of two shows a year.
