WHAT HAPPENS IN VATICAN, STAYS IN VATICAN

MATERIALS: Oil on linen (prepared by the artist)

SIZE: 11 x 14 in

YEAR: 2025

This painting engages directly with the visual language of Renaissance portraiture while intentionally subverting its conventions. The sitter’s smooth modeling, restrained palette, and carefully balanced composition recall the quattrocento masters such as Piero della Francesca and early Florentine portraitists, whose works emphasized harmony, clarity, and the dignity of the subject. Yet here, the elongated features, stylized coiffure, and slightly exaggerated gaze disrupt the idealization, creating a sense of detachment and irony.

The title, What Happens in Vatican, Stays in Vatican, adds a contemporary layer of critique. It alludes to the secrecy and self-contained narratives of ecclesiastical power, echoing the way Renaissance portraiture often functioned as an instrument of authority and image management. The enigmatic expression of the sitter recalls the ambiguous half-smiles of courtly portraiture, where meaning was both projected and withheld, but in this case, it becomes a vehicle for reflecting on hidden histories and unspoken truths.