Antonio Sciacca (1957) - The Serpent and the Orb

In The Serpent and the Orb, Antonio Sciacca presents a figure poised between symbolic oppositions. Seated frontally and draped in deep red, the subject holds a golden orb in one hand and a serpent in the other. The composition is balanced and deliberate, allowing these two elements to exist in quiet tension rather than hierarchy.

The orb, traditionally associated with sovereignty and order, introduces a sense of permanence and control. In contrast, the serpent evokes transformation, renewal, and ambiguity. Sciacca situates these symbols within a restrained pictorial space, allowing their meanings to unfold through juxtaposition rather than narrative.

The figure’s stylised features and sculptural hair lend the work an otherworldly quality, distancing it from realism and placing it within a symbolic register. Through this controlled staging, Sciacca creates a composition that reflects on duality, where opposing forces coexist within a single, composed presence.

Oil painting - 70 x 49 cm - 2026

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Antonio Sciacca (b. 1957, Catania) is known for his sophisticated still lifes and figurative works that draw on classical composition and contemporary introspection. His paintings are held in private collections across Europe and have been widely exhibited in Italy and abroad.

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