Antonio Sciacca (1957) - The Turtle and the Seahorse

A still life staged as a meditation on time, survival, and quiet endurance. At the centre, the turtle advances slowly across a shallow ledge, its shell rendered with an almost geological patience. The creature’s gaze is alert yet unhurried, embodying longevity rather than movement.

To the right, a mounted seahorse rises vertically, preserved and immobilised, transforming a living being into an object of contemplation. Its delicate form contrasts with the turtle’s weight and permanence. Together, they suggest opposing rhythms of nature: the ancient and terrestrial versus the fragile and marine.

Behind them, an earthenware vessel overgrown with ivy introduces a note of persistence and decay. The ivy climbs gently, indifferent to the stillness below, reinforcing the painting’s central tension between life that continues and life that has been arrested. The warm, restrained background and theatrical drapery recall classical still-life traditions, while the choice of subjects introduces an unmistakably contemporary unease.

The composition feels less decorative than philosophical, inviting the viewer to consider how objects, creatures, and symbols outlive their original context and are transformed by time into relics, trophies, or witnesses.

Artist Bio:
Antonio Sciacca (b. 1970, Sicily) is a distinguished Italian painter celebrated for his refined fusion of classical technique and contemporary sensibility. His work reflects a deep reverence for Renaissance and Neoclassical traditions, reinterpreted through an intimate and modern lens. Sciacca’s portraits are known for their quiet strength, psychological depth, and technical precision, often incorporating mythological or historical motifs as meditations on continuity and beauty. Exhibited internationally, his paintings stand as a testament to the enduring dialogue between art, humanity, and time.