Not the raw meat dish, silly; she means the painter. “I am no connoisseur, cultural scholar, or art historian. I know nothing about painterly techniques, chromatic gradations, or artistic affinities, and my infatuation with him is largely affectionate fancy. I feel I know him personally, and I often sense that I am directly in touch with him across the centuries, across the continents, as one might be in touch with a living friend. But however much I delight in Carpaccio’s virtual company, I know hardly anything about the man, and in this I am not alone.”