La mora

Paintings Oil on canvas
Single artwork

800,00

Description by the artist

Beautiful, sensual and vindictive overlooking a balcony awaiting for his Moor…

Details and dimensions

Materials: Oil on canvas
Dimensions (cm): Height 60, Width 50, Depth 3
Handcrafted in Sicily

The artwork in the Sicilian culture

By the Governance of Sicilian Artisan Foundation

The Moor’s Heads are a classic representation of artistic Sicily. The Moor’s bring us back to the Arab domination in Sicily (IX-XI century). The Muslim period lasted almost two centuries but it is the one that has left the biggest imprint, probably, in the rich history of Sicily. Not so much in the monuments (very few) but in the daily life, in the etymology of many words, in the dialect, in the uses and customs. Moor’s are typical figures which come into play very often in Sicilian culture as for example in the Opera the Puppets or in the legend of the Moor’s head. They tell of a legend in which a beautiful Sicilian fell in love with an Arab at the time that they reigned in Sicily (IX-XI century), being betrayed by the Moor, she beheaded him in his sleep and hung his head, as if it were a vase, on the balcony, also adorning it with a fragrant basil plant that aroused the admiration of unsuspecting  bystanders. In a certain sense, the Arabs have never left Sicily.

Photo Sicilianwomen, 1922

The Governance also suggests

The objective of the Governance is both to safeguard the traditions and ancient crafts of the people of Sicily, and to sustain economically the Artisans and the Artists, both the real ethno-anthropologists of the country.
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