The theme of the Madonna, the Virgin Mary (with and without the Child) is among the most ancient and most widespread in Christian art.
Starting from the assumption that, in the Middle Ages, the term “Madonna” was also an honorary title that was used in Italy to address a woman or when talking about her: “Madonna, mia bisogna Voi conoscete…” (“My necessity, Madonna, You know...”) (Dante Alighieri) and, in poetry, to describe the beloved woman: “Madonna è disiata in sommo cielo” (“My lady is desired in paradise”) (Dante Alighieri), I have decided to strip this word of its specifically religious meaning and to turn it upside down according to my own vision. We are used to reading the image of the Madonna as an unparalleled, pure and unachievable woman, and we forget that she was simply and essentially an ordinary woman, a mother, and a wife.
So I thought precisely of “ordinary” women and I tried to make them place-less and timeless icons.
I have sought to keep the sacred nature of that artistic theme while applying it to the women I met along my path.
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