05 Works, February 14th, is Lupercalia/ Saint Valentine’s Day, With Footnotes – #45

In a refined contrast with a material background, the delicate and idealized line of Maria Rachele Branca , which distinguishes her style in the lyricism of a mythologized folklore, suspends the scene in the allusion to the invasive sound of the flute which bewitches the nymph sitting on it next to. And precisely in underlining its predatory instinct, the canvas accentuates the potential for prosperity of LUPERCUS FAUNUS in a good omen invoked for the territory. More on this painting

Lupercalia was an ancient pastoral annual festival observed in the city of Rome between February 13 and February 15, to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility.

At the Lupercal altar, a male goat and a dog were sacrificed by one or another of the Luperci, under the supervision of the Flamen dialis, Jupiter’s chief priest, after which two of the Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife, and the blood was wiped off with wool dipped in milk Next the Luperci cut thongs from the flayed skin of the animal, and ran with these, naked or near-naked, in an anticlockwise direction around the hill. These gross whips were called, februare.

Maria Rachele «Since I was a child I had a passion for artistic expression which manifested itself with a particular talent in drawing. So when it came time to choose the address for high school I chose the Art Institute even if it meant taking the bus from Bagnoli every morning at dawn. I began to develop a bond with art, but I didn’t think of myself as an artist, I felt a strong pleasure in entering the churches of my small town, studying its culture, learning the traditions of the area»…

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