Antonio Nocera - The Crown of Thorns

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 likeness was 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 pervaded the entire history of Western art. From the first iconic representations of the early Christian and early Middle Ages, we gradually moved on to increasingly naturalistic (starting in the Renaissance) or realistic (typical of Flemish art) depictions.

This work is a perfect example of Antonio Nocera's style. The artist maintains a connection to phenomenal reality, but emphasizes it through an expressionist and symbolist lens. Antonio Nocera's compositions are highly stylised, resulting in the entire structure of the work being defined by a combination of very pronounced lines and a sinuous flow. This also gives rise to the elegant deformations of the subjects, who become elongated and lose their physiognomic features. Colour plays a minor role, compact and devoid of pictorial effects; its nuanced tones are the perfect complement to Nocera's drawing.

Antonio Nocera was born in Caivano in 1949 and trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. His artistic career developed primarily in Milan, where he lived since 1970 and frequented the artistic circles of Brera and the Navigli area. His fame is now international, thanks to numerous exhibitions around the world where his paintings have been featured. His themes are drawn from fairy tales and legends, creating symbolic subjects that resonate with contemporary reality.

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