Il Rito 2016

Roberto Ferri made this painting, Il Rito, with oil paint. Look at how he models the figures, it's all about this super smooth, almost airbrushed surface. It's a real throwback to the old masters, like Caravaggio. You can almost feel the weight of the bodies pressing together, with light and shadow playing across their forms. The skin tones are so carefully rendered, and those hands wrapped around each other are just exquisite. It's all about capturing that raw, emotional intensity of human connection. I find myself wondering what kind of brushes he used to get such smooth blending and almost no visible brushstrokes. The way Ferri handles light is incredible. He manipulates it to create drama, drawing our eyes to key areas and leaving others in shadow. You could almost compare it to the lighting in a film. Ultimately, Ferri’s work invites us to look at art as an ongoing exploration of human experience, expressed through this ancient language of paint.