Metaphysical Composition

Artwork 36

The artwork

In this painting, the contemporary author Cesare Catania touches the theme of the environment that surrounds us. The work infact explores the relationship between man (symbolically identified in his hand and head) and the surrounding world. The man switches on a light to stop the frenzy that surrounds him (symbolically represented by a building that seems to come from afar like a moving train). In this still picture the man dominates and becomes the protagonist in the foreground. The attempted revival and dominance of the protagonist seems to happen almost jokingly, in a metaphysical context where a head sways on its equilibrium position observing a hand (large and disproportionate) that switches on the light. In order to become active participants of one’s own existence not much effort is needed. The head (symbolizing man’s mind) and the hand (symbolizing the will) are sufficient.