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Baroque + Bottle Book Club | Fragility + Faith

January 15, 2026 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Baroque + Bottle Book Club | Fragility + Faith

In conjunction with In Caravaggio’s Light | Baroque Masterpieces from the Fondazione Roberto Longhi, the MFA introduces the Baroque + Bottle Book Club, a dynamic literary series that pairs contemporary fiction with the timeless themes of the Baroque. 

Presented in partnership with Book + Bottle, St. Pete’s beloved independent bookstore and wine bar, each gathering invites readers to dive into contemporary novels that echo the emotional intensity, moral tension, and timeless questions embedded in the Baroque movement. With expertly paired wines, lively, guided conversations, and exclusive in-gallery experiences, this series creates unexpected connections between the masterpieces on view and the pressing issues of today.  

While Baroque artists celebrated divine light and sacred ecstasy, they also revealed the shadows of human weakness through figures caught between transcendence and ruin. Caravaggio himself embodied this tension, living a life marked by violence, instability, and excess even as he painted scenes of profound spirituality and grace. His work, and his struggles, underscore the fragile line between sin and salvation that has fascinated artists and audiences for centuries. 

This session takes that exploration into contemporary literature with Kaveh Akbar’s acclaimed debut novel Martyr!. Following Cyrus Shams, the newly sober son of Iranian immigrants, the novel navigates grief, addiction, obsession, and faith with humor, poetry, and raw honesty. Cyrus’s search for the truth through martyrs, memory, and art unfolds as both a portrait of human vulnerability and a testament to resilience.  

What to Expect:

  • 6:00–6:30 pm — Arrivals: grab a glass of wine and ease in with thought-starter prompts and casual conversation.
  • 6:30–7:30 pm — Guided discussion led by Book + Bottle, exploring the book’s themes and connections to the Baroque.
  • 7:30–8:00 pm — Gallery spotlight with MFA curators and educators: a focused look at a work from In Caravaggio’s Light to bring the conversation full circle.

Baroque + Bottle Book Club | Fragility + Faith

Thursday, January 15, 2026
6:00 PM–8:00 PM
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg FL 33701

$25 for Members; $35 for Not-Yet-Members.

Tickets include program and 1 glass of wine. Additional wine available for purchase. A limited number of copies are available at the MFA Shop and at Book + Bottle! Get 10% off the next book on the night of each book club!

 

Not yet a member?
Become a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers! 

MFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year, early access to special exhibitions, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine, special member-only exclusive events, and more. Bring the whole family!

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About Book + Bottle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book + Bottle is a bottle shop, an independent bookstore, a coffee café, and a wine bar all rolled into one exquisite little package. They have the most passionate, friendly, and helpful team in town to help you choose a book or a bottle or to take care of you and your friends on your night off.

They’re an independent, woman-owned, values-driven, sustainably run, local-first business that believes little kindnesses can make our community—and the world—a better place.

About Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martyr! (2024) is poet Kaveh Akbar’s debut novel—a razor-bright, darkly funny portrait of Cyrus Shams, a young Iranian American searching for meaning as he wrestles with grief, addiction, and the idea of martyrdom. Moving between the Midwest and New York’s art world, the book blends realism and dreamlike turns to explore faith, family, desire, and what it takes to live purposefully.

See ALL Baroque + Bottle Book Club Dates and Times:

Organized by Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi and Civita Mostre e Musei.

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