Bruno Bondi (1987) - Arco sul Mare

Arch over the Sea
Opera: Oil on canvas, 50x40 cm
Artist: Bruno Bondi

An ancient stone arch, wrapped in climbing plants and lush foliage, frames the scene like a natural curtain and guides the eye toward a coastal village that gently slopes down to the sea. The textures of the stones, rendered with delicate touches and warm glazes, dialogue with the vivid green of the leaves, creating a balance between monumentality and landscape grace. Under the arch, a winding path accompanies the visual narration: from the shadowed rock in the foreground to the masonry houses with pink-tiled roofs, up to the cliffs plunging into cobalt water dotted with distant boats. Human figures, small but intentional, introduce a quiet rhythm and suggest a suspended everyday life, while the light, clear and pure, modulates the volumes and opens atmospheric depths toward the bluish mountains in the background. The composition is orchestrated around arches and diagonals: the arch unifies as a motif, the rocky masses on the left balance the architecture on the right, and the central pathway guides perspective and breath. The palette alternates between glazed greens, earthy ochres, and marine blues, with touches of white on the edges of the houses to catch the light, conveying a luminous and enveloping Mediterranean atmosphere. The brushwork, now smooth on architectural surfaces, and more tactile on the foliage and rocks, adds tactile variability and emphasizes the contrast between nature and construction. A feeling of calm nostalgia emerges: a timeless place where the history of the arch and the breath of the sea coexist in a scene of serene continuity.