Carne altrui 1884

Medardo Rosso captured this poignant image of a child's face in wax, a material that allows for both fragility and raw emotion. The tender gesture of the child’s embrace evokes images of mourning, where the act of holding and cherishing becomes a powerful symbol of loss. Consider the ancient motif of the Pietà, where the Virgin Mary cradles the lifeless body of Christ, a visual language that expresses grief, compassion, and the intimate bond between mother and child. Rosso's image echoes this, yet it is recast within a modern context. The child's face, buried in its own embrace, takes on a psychological dimension, becoming a study in introspection and self-consolation. In art, such expressions are never isolated incidents but rather a continuous thread woven through the fabric of human expression. They re-emerge, transformed by time and circumstance, to engage viewers in a dialogue about the human condition.