Fear with Roberto Ferri
Roberto Ferri is a contemporary Italian painter whose art is reminiscent of the Baroque era. Baroque art is unique for its attention to detail, exaggeration of motion and elaborate demonstration of tension. In this picture, a woman is shown with red hair cascading down her back between a set of dark wings. Beneath her, is a hand whose blueish tones are reminiscent of a corpse. Due to its position beneath the woman, and the desperation with which it is reaching, the hand appears to be a victim of the woman.
The woman’s gaze shows her sensitivity while her wings, dark and boldly spread, represent her potential to be a monster. Given the hand, it appears that the woman’s darker, more violent side initially won the conflict. However, in the aftermath we see pictured, the woman’s gaze reflects regret and sadness. With her arms wrapped around her body, the woman is attempting to protect herself. Perhaps she is not only attempting to protect herself from external harm but internal harm as well. She is afraid of the conflict within her. The dark wings represent the feelings of fear this woman carries inside herself. As long as her fears have the upper hand the dark turmoil within her will continue to exist. As exemplified by Ferri’s painting, all consuming fear can lead to violence and acts that we can later deeply regret.
Only by overcoming her fear will the woman in Ferri’s painting be able to let go of her dark nature so that her sensitivity may reign. Beyond Ferri’s painting, fear holds a similar power to manipulate our decision-making process. Human life is composed of a series of choices, the outcomes of which are often determined by how much we let fear be a factor in our decision-making process. In order to make the healthiest decisions we must overcome our fears whether that be our fear of failure, success, or mediocrity and triumph over indecision so that our lives are not shaped by regret and stagnation.
The painting is indeed striking with its bold colors and suggestive symbolism. What captures my attention even more, however, is the woman’s hair or rather, what’s in it. Her red hair is held back in bandanna whose design is reminiscent of butterfly wings — a motif that is amplified by the actual butterfly wings on her back. Although the motif in itself is a noteworthy item of analysis, I’m fascinated by the choice of a bandanna — a fabric often associated with the working class. Too often, I feel, art has been the pastime of the wealthy. The working class has been the subjects of paintings — even muses at times — but rarely the patrons. Their lives and livelihoods have been idealized and portrayed as voyeuristic subjects to the privileged lot. Thus, this artwork calls to my attention in its fierce representation of a working-class woman who glares at the viewer with an ambivalent intensity that both invites curiosity but stays the imagination at a respectful distance.
I think this painting forces viewers to question the balance of good versus evil. This angel, as you presented, shows her evil side through the inclusion of the corpse like hand below. However, we see the aftermath and her feelings of remorse that come along with it. This angel forces us to question the choices we make in life — if we do something bad, we must live with the consequences. With action there is a reaction, and the angel shows the feelings of fear and remorse as that reaction.