Redenzione 2011

Curator: I’m struck immediately by how incredibly raw it feels, almost like witnessing something intensely private, and I think it might be because the artist has dared to bring such sensual, flesh-like humanity into this allegory. Editor: We're looking at Roberto Ferri's *Redenzione*, an oil painting completed in 2011. Ferri employs the techniques of the Baroque masters to explore really quite potent contemporary themes. The Italian word "Redenzione", of course, speaks to redemption, a concept brimming with historical and psychological weight. Curator: Definitely baroque! All that chiaroscuro pulls you in, doesn't it? The almost theatrical lighting seems to elevate the subjects—I see what appears to be Christ, between a duo of fallen angels. It reminds me of a Caravaggio painting. But something's unsettling me, in a way that feels very…current. Editor: Note how Ferri utilizes figures and tropes—the suffering figure, the comforting angels—historically used to convey religious ecstasy or divine intervention, yet presents them here in a starkly secular context. Look closer and one might read them as aspects of a psyche. What's fascinating to me is that combination of sacred symbolism used to explore human experience. Curator: Ah, I see it now. He isn’t just echoing past styles. The angels, for example: are they succubi or manifestations of comfort? This figure seems supported but burdened by their presence. He is clearly marked—crucified—by experiences, yet stands, faltering above a…well, it looks like an ancient well or baptismal font? Ferri seems to posit both are linked somehow, the suffering and redemption found nearby? Editor: Symbolically, the well often represents truth, self-reflection and insight but is frequently a site where secrets can linger—so your reading is indeed sound. We see then that Ferri is in dialog with not just art history but deeper cultural myths as well. It gives the artwork a very contemporary sensibility. Curator: Exactly! Like we're dredging up uncomfortable truths. Thanks for pointing that out. I walked in seeing a classical scene but now I see something far more ambivalent and contemporary about this search for freedom through…confrontation. It’s fascinating how the older style only serves to deepen that tension, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: It certainly elevates the conversation. One might walk away wondering if "redenzione" is possible when all the angels around are as troubled as we are.