My illustration represents the Angel of Death by the sculptor Giulio Monteverde.The work, in white marble, was sculpted by the artist in 1822 on commission from Francesco Oneto, a wealthy Genoese man, who wanted to honor the memory of his family with a majestic work to be placed in the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno, in Genoa.
Monteverde created something completely different compared to the customs of the time: for funerary monuments, in fact, artists used to sculpt either the relatives in tears or works that in some way extolled the virtues of the deceased; he instead preferred to represent an angel who meditates on the mystery of life and death while watching over the tomb. More than an angel who leads the soul of the deceased towards Paradise, Monteverde’s angel seems to be a witness to what happened and does not do anything to console the customers.
In my intention, the icy gaze of the angel wants to be a warning to all humanity about irresponsible and short-sighted behavior on environmental issues