Il Tricolore

13 in x 21 in,

2/2024

I am full-blooded Italian in ancestry, with 2 grandfathers coming from Abruzzo, the mountainous region east of Rome, a grandmother from Napoli (Naples), and a grandmother from a small village near Bergamo in the North of Italy. Proud of my heritage, I got the idea to paint the Italian flag, but to break up the green/white/red vertical stripes into geometric shapes filled with interesting hues and textures. I called it "Il Tricolore" because that's what the flag is commonly known as in Italy - meaning "three colors". There are at least a couple of interpretations as to the meaning of the colors. The one that appeals to me is that the colors carry idealistic significance: green for freedom, white for faith and purity, and red for love.