On the occasion of the 10th edition of the Art Exhibition Next, Rori Palazzo revised the scene of The Nativity maintaining the original theme and the dimension of Caravaggio’s lost masterpiece.
The artist represents the transitory moments of Christ’s life – Birth, Death and Resurrection – highlighting their fluid essence.
The baptismal fountain made of white marble is both womb and sepulcher, while the feminine character is a hybrid between the Virgin Mary and the beloved apostle Magdalene. While the Virgin Mary represents Jesus Christ’s Birth, Magdalene represents his Death and Resurrection, as she was the one who anointed Jesus Christ’s body after the Crucifixion and the first one to witness his Resurrection.
By merging the two feminine characters, Rori Palazzo suggests an ever-changing and mystic nativity in which the vertical elevation of the newborn creature recalls the cyclical nature of the Tree of Life where death and life eventually merge. The pyramidal composition also suggests spiritual transcendence with an ascension to the sky.
The whole architecture is a complex interlocking of elements, solid and fluid at the same time. While the two characters stand out against the marble’s brightest white as metaphysical beings, the soft shadows left by their bodies recall their physical essence.
The strong visual impact of Rori Palazzo’s Natività is enhanced by the threefold nature of the iconography: archaic, mythological and contemporary.