« All Events

Baroque + Bottle Book Club | Body + Perception

February 19, 2026 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Baroque + Bottle Book Club | Body + Perception

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.  

Baroque painters depicted the human body with unflinching honesty, portraying figures who were wounded, sensual, aged, and ecstatic. Sacred subjects were radically humanized for the first time in Western art, as Caravaggio and other Baroque artists emphasized the reality of dirty feet, lined faces, and visible scars.  

This session turns to Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties, to explore how contemporary literature examines how physical form is perceived, regulated, stigmatized, and celebrated. This daring collection of stories shatters genre boundaries while mapping the realities of women’s lives and the critical eye society places on their bodies. From eerie horror to dark comedy, Machado’s tales bend psychological realism, science fiction, and fabulism into narratives that are simultaneously unsettling, provocative, and deeply human.  

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 | Body + Perception

Thursday, February 19, 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!

BECOME A MEMBER

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 Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body And Other Parties

Her Body and Other Parties (2017) is Carmen Maria Machado’s debut story collection, blending horror, fabulism, and realist tones into eerie, darkly witty tales about the body, desire, queerness, and the narratives society imposes on women. Across these genre-bending pieces, Machado pushes myths and pop culture into strange, luminous territory—provocative, unsettling, and fiercely inventive—without tipping any endings.

See ALL Baroque + Bottle Book Club Dates and Times:

Images:

Jusepe de Ribera, St. Thomas (detail), c. 1612, Oil on canvas, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi, Florence, Italy

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

Details

Venue

Related Events