“Art” lovers, I don’t mean to pry: Have you ever enjoyed a cold Negroni (one part gin, one part Campari, one part sweet vermouth) on a warm spring evening? And have you ever experienced the work of American modernist painter Max Weber (one part Matisse-trained, one part Picasso-influenced, one part Rousseau-befriended) on the following sun-drenched afternoon?

Weekend recipe advice from a novice: If you gulp your gorgeous pre-prandial Negroni too quickly tonight – it tastes like sweet, spiky red juice – as I did just last weekend, you may feel it tomorrow. If you feel it tomorrow, especially if your head pulses with a heat as red as the cocktail you chugged, reconsider staying in bed all day – instead, consider visiting the BMA’s immense new Contemporary Wing instead, which you can comb through calmly, mounting stairs in slow motion, soaking up the soothing gray walls, and when you’re ready, and only then, you may begin to process the elegantly simple, user-friendly story of Weber’s formative years in Paris, “when he transformed his painting style from classical representations of figures to bold interpretations of cubism and futurism,” according to the wise BMA website. You’ll also tour a number of important paintings from the artist’s personal collection by Matisse, Rousseau, and Picasso. (Note: When Weber returned to America in 1909, he brought with him the first paintings by Picasso and Rousseau to enter the U.S., plus reproductions of Cezanne and one of the first African sculptures to be presented in this country. This exhibit runs through June 23rd.)