Il Gioco Delle Eleadi 2015

Roberto Ferri painted ‘Il Gioco Delle Eleadi’ with what looks like oil paint in a realist style. Imagine the artist at his easel, trying to capture the soft glow of skin against the stark branches. He has built up glazes of translucent color, one layer at a time. You can see the clear influence of the old masters in the way he plays with light and shadow. I wonder if he was listening to music while he worked? Maybe some dramatic opera, something to get the emotions flowing. The pale figure perched in the tree, perhaps, is a nod to a long tradition of artists depicting nudes in nature. It’s like she’s become part of the tree itself. Painters are always looking at other painters, borrowing ideas, and pushing them further. It’s one big conversation that’s been going on for centuries.