Marco Ercoli - Ecce Homo

Ecce Homo
80x80
Oil on canvas
2026

In Ecce Homo, the figure of the monkey, crouched atop a human skull and captured in the act of screaming, becomes the image of a humanity reduced to its most distant origin. Stripped of social constructs, conventions, and cultural overlays, the human being appears in his most authentic and primitive component: body, fear, aggression, and survival instinct.

The skull is not merely a traditional memento mori, but the very foundation upon which the animal figure rises. Instinct governs what remains of man, while the scream seems to cut across time, halfway between birth and agony, vital affirmation and forewarning of dissolution.

The title Ecce Homo introduces a deliberately provocative contrast. The man shown is not the civilized, rational individual, but a creature still subject to the economy of nature, in which every existence is placed in an inevitable cycle of birth, life, and death. The monkey and the skull thus become two moments of the same condition: the vital impulse and its exhaustion, presence and its future absence.

The painting, built through nervous matter and a cool color palette, heightens the sense of isolation and suspension. The scene assumes the character of a contemporary allegory of the human condition: behind every form of progress, a fragile, instinctive, and mortal creature continues to survive, constantly exposed to the temporality of its own existence.

The work is sold without a frame.

Marco Ercoli’s works have been presented at the Colasanti auction house:
https://www.colasantiaste.com/it/artisti/marco-ercoli-1327

The artist is listed in Arsvalue’s catalog of artists:
https://www.arsvalue.com/en/lots/1278322/marco-ercoli-roma-1986-albero-della-vita

Instagram Page:
https://www.instagram.com/marco__ercoli/

Marco Ercoli

Artistic Curriculum

Awards and Recognitions

2024: Selected among the "222 Artists to Invest in 2024", editorial volume edited by Exibart.

2023 – Gualdo Tadino: Realization of the Palio for the 2023 edition of the "Giochi de le Porte", presented with a standing ovation at the Monumental Church of San Francesco.

2019 – Isernia: Winner of the P.A.C.I. Award, Quality Award, Auditorium Città d'Isernia.

2012 – France: Colart scholarship at the Atelier "Plessix-Madeuc".

2008 – Rome: Winner of "MarteLive", Quality Award, painting section.

Solo Exhibitions

2023 – Gualdo Tadino (PG): "In Your Eyes", Museal Center - Monumental Church of San Francesco, curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi.

2022 – Rome: "Epimetheus", Galleria 28 Piazza di Pietra, curated by Giorgia Basili.

2021 – Massa Lubrense (NA): "Nocturne", Art Hotel Villa Fiorella, curated by Giorgia Basili.

2016 – Rome: "7", Galleria Curva Pura, curated by Serena Di Giovanni.

2010 – Rome: "F(R)ame", Libreria Einaudi.

2009 – Rome: "Collection of Butterflies". Galleria Ercoli Arte Contemporanea, curated by Carlo Ercoli.

2009 – Rome: "Matter and Ego", Galleria Casina Giustiniani.

Group Exhibitions and Pavilions

2018 – Basel (Switzerland): "Sommerausstellung", Galerie Eulenspiegel.

2018 – Rome: "Profane liquid, for external use only", Studio Giga, curated by Bianca Catalano.

2015 – Rome: "Radiate", TakeawayGallery.

2015 – Fermo: Stripe Festival Art and Architecture.

2015 – Milan: Affordable Art Fair Milano (AAF), Superstudio Più, Stand E5 (White Noise Gallery).

2015 – Rome: "Any Given Post-it", White Noise Gallery.

2013 – Rome: "First Art Hotel", Galleria Muciaccia.

2012 – Rome: "Rendez-vous", Galleria ArtePerOggi.

2012 – France: "Les Atelier du Plessix-Madeuc", Abbaye St Magloire, Lehon.

2011 – Turin: Venice Biennale, Italy Pavilion.

Installations and Special Projects

2018 – Civitella D'Agliano (VT): "Agora", Permanent Installation, project 1 Artist 1 Day, Contaminazioni d'Arte.