Madonna

Painting Description: "Madonna" by Valeria Notarnicola

Medium: Acrylic and lacquer on canvas
Dimensions: 80 × 60 cm
Date: May 2025
Style: In the tradition of Gustav Klimt

This vibrant and ornate painting captures the essence of feminine grace, mystery, and sensuality, closely echoing the artistic style of Gustav Klimt. At the center stands a serene, dreamlike female figure, her eyes closed in peaceful introspection. Her tilted head and delicate posture exude both vulnerability and strength, wrapped in a sense of spiritual stillness—evoking the archetype of a Madonna.

The woman's flowing red-orange curls form a halo of color and texture, richly layered with floral and circular motifs, suggestive of blooming vitality and cosmic symbolism. These elements are reminiscent of Klimt’s decorative tendencies, where hair often becomes a canvas for abstraction and ornamentation.

Her robe is a dazzling tapestry of golden yellows, reds, greens, and sapphire blues, elaborately patterned with spirals, dots, and geometric forms. This gilded textile-like treatment pays homage to Klimt's famous "Golden Phase," evoking Byzantine mosaics and the luxurious feel of Art Nouveau.

Surrounding the figure is a lush, garden-like backdrop filled with fantastical flowers and swirling vines, blending the boundaries between body, textile, and nature. The background teems with organic forms and stylized celestial shapes, echoing the way Klimt often enveloped his subjects in symbolic, ornamental environments.

The use of lacquer heightens the surface's richness, adding a luminous, almost enamel-like sheen that enhances the painting’s tactile and visual depth.

Interpretation

This piece seems to celebrate feminine divinity and inner peace, with a modern spiritual tone that reverberates through the symbols and warm, saturated palette. The merging of ornamental opulence and personal emotion is unmistakably Klimtian, while the choice of media—acrylic and lacquer—introduces a contemporary vibrancy and texture to the classic aesthetic.