There are some works that enlighten you just by talking about them, because they contain so many small elements that captivate us. This is one of those cases! A friend of mine calls me, she has to give an “important” gift to someone, and she tells me: “You are the right person to do it”! How come, I ask myself. Soon said, she wants to gift a painting depicting the Madonna of the Animals. More than me being the right person, she knows I will put my soul into it! I start thinking about the picture. The format is not big enough to match my ambitious project (Cm 50×70), but it doesn’t matter. I start throwing ideas down on paper, looking for concepts for the Virgin. I wanted to do something classic, but not too much… The beautiful images of Raphael’s Madonnas were buzzing in my head, with an endless series of animals, but which ones to choose? Here’s the idea that cleared up my mind. I wanted it to be the Madonna of the World, representing Christianity in every place of Creation, so I ended up choosing an animal to represent each continent: the Koala for Oceania, the Tiger for India, the Fennec for Africa, the Bear for the Americas and the Albino Reindeer for the polar continents. The Child, in his mother’s arms, holds a small Robin on one finger, representing Europe. The composition of the Madonna with the Child was inspired by Raphael and Delaroche, but with the inclusion of more modern features. I want to thank again those who commissioned this drawing and allowed me to publish it.
