WORK SHOWCASE: Christian Dellavedova

This week, the Directory of Illustration highlights work from Christian Dellavedova, represented by António Adrião Artist Representative (AAARep).

Illustrator: Christian Dellavedova

Client: Luiss University Press

Agent: AAA Rep

From the Artist: I was asked by the Luiss University Press to illustrate the new edition of Camille Paglia’s masterpiece “Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson.” The new Italian edition is part of a series of books art directed by Maurizio Ceccato at Ifix.

In her book, the author argues that human nature has an inherently dangerous dionysian aspect, especially in regard to sexuality. Culture and civilization are created by men and represent an attempt to contain that force. Paglia thought women are powerful, too, but as natural forces, and both marriage and religion are means to contain chaotic forces.

I presented two different sketches to the editor, the first more conceptual, representing a woman’s breast as a symbol of caged sexuality behind the public image controlled by men’s power and a second more narrative piece, representing Nefertiti and Emily Dickinson. I used a very clean vector style, trying to give uniformity to all the covers I’m creating for the book series, as I did for the former book by Helga Nowotny.