Fear with Roberto Ferri
By Abigail LeCates
Roberto Ferri is a contemporary Italian painter whose art is reminiscent of the Baroque era. Baroque art is unique for its attention to detail, exaggeration of motion and elaborate demonstration of tension. In this picture, a woman is shown with red hair cascading down her back between a set of dark wings. Beneath her, is a hand whose blueish tones are reminiscent of a corpse. Due to its position beneath the woman, and the desperation with which it is reaching, the hand appears to be a victim of the woman.
The woman’s gaze shows her sensitivity while her wings, dark and boldly spread, represent her potential to be a monster. Given the hand, it appears that the woman’s darker, more violent side initially won the conflict. However, in the aftermath we see pictured, the woman’s gaze reflects regret and sadness. With her arms wrapped around her body, the woman is attempting to protect herself. Perhaps she is not only attempting to protect herself from external harm but internal harm as well. She is afraid of the conflict within her. The dark wings represent the feelings of fear this woman carries inside herself. As long as her fears have the upper hand the dark turmoil within her will continue to exist. As exemplified by Ferri’s painting, all consuming fear can lead to violence and acts that we can later deeply regret.
Only by overcoming her fear will the woman in Ferri’s painting be able to let go of her dark nature so that her sensitivity may reign. Beyond Ferri’s painting, fear holds a similar power to manipulate our decision-making process. Human life is composed of a series of choices, the outcomes of which are often determined by how much we let fear be a factor in our decision-making process. In order to make the healthiest decisions we must overcome our fears whether that be our fear of failure, success, or mediocrity and triumph over indecision so that our lives are not shaped by regret and stagnation.
