This is the Master's degree dissertation project I did at the „West University of Timişoara” (UVT) where I pursued a Master degree in Art, specialized in Painting.

See the Making of for more details

The interpretation

The concept and idea behind "Carita Europeana" is based on "Carita Romana", a story written by Valerius Maximus, an ancient Roman historian, in around CE 30. Quote from Wikipedia:

"Carita Romana" is the exemplary story of a daughter, Pero, who secretly breastfeeds her father, Cimon, after he is incarcerated and sentenced to death by starvation. She is found out by a jailer, but her act of selflessness impresses officials and wins her father's release. [The story] was presented as a great act of filial piety and Roman honour.

In my interpretation the situation is quite different. I present a heavily bleeding disabled boy in a wheelchair indirectly breastfed by his personal caregiver, using a feeding tube and a breast pump, in a cell. The physical disabilities and the isolation are presented as his life long inescapable sentence. The tired woman bears a cross on her back, attached to her with belts, and the door of the cell is open. She has the option to leave. Instead, she chooses to carry on with her life long burden of helping him. The door has steps to emphasize that he cannot escape from his sentence, the exit is not accessible.

The project "Carita Europeana" consists of three parts.

In the first part I depict the cell and the characters in a semi-realistic manner, with shadings, lighting and proper colours. The setup is relatively emotional and atmospheric, gloomy.

The second part is a highly emotional interpretation that elaborates on the subject even further by making use of many symbols and colours. This part is painted as a cartoon, with minimal shading, almost no lighting and vivid colours.

The third part is an abstract version of the image and it is visually much easier on the eyes.