Vincent Desiderio is one of the world's greatest painters. His current show at New York's Marlborough Gallery features a number of small works plus one very large one. "Dead White" projects astonishing emotional power. It is a both a warning and an indictment. A vision of hell, it is informed by the artist's relentless study of history, philosophy, and culture. To fully embrace it, one must accept, in Rilke's words, both its beauty and its terror.
