Emilio Larocca Conte - Untitled

The iconographic subject of Christ's face has ancient origins and is connected to the legend of Veronica. The episode in which Christ's true features were imprinted on a cloth used by a woman to wipe his face is also recounted in the Gospels. This woman was identified as Veronica, likely due to the similarity with the Latin words "Vera Icon." Since the early Christian era, the face of Christ has been the object of particular veneration. Its depiction has spanned the entire history of Western art. From the first iconic representations of the early Christian and early Middle Ages, we gradually arrived at increasingly naturalistic (starting in the Renaissance) or realistic (typical of Flemish art) depictions. Emilio Larocca also distinguished himself with a notable production of sacred subjects such as this one.

Emilio Larocca's interpretation of the sacred subject also takes on the typical tones of his artistic style, a realist-verist interpretation. However, given the highly dramatic subject (Christ is depicted in the agony of the crucifixion), in this work Larocca seeks a more expressionist language. He achieves this, first and foremost, with the compositional concept that focuses the frame on the half-length figure of the suffering Christ. Furthermore, he emerges from the decontextualized space, thanks to the excellent and progressive application of light, which, however, does not enhance the plastic qualities, but rather makes them vibrant in an extremely synthetic and dynamic color scheme.

Emilio Larocca was born in Trecchina in 1932 and passed away in 2017. In Lauria, he learned the art of fresco painting and portraiture from the master Lanziani. A figurative painter with eighty solo and group exhibitions under his belt, Larocca worked for several years in Naples. He received important awards, including the Puglia International Prize for Sacred Frescoes and the Grand Prix International d'Art Contemporaine in Venice. A painter of landscapes and large-scale altarpieces, over a fifty-year career, Larocca became a member of several academies. His paintings are held in public and private collections in Italy, as well as in the Vatican, Spain, and the Americas.

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