Family portraits
The following collection stems from the artist’s desire to immortalize those closest to him. Each painting explores aspects of the character of each member of his family through the combined use of materials and forms. Olive wood blends with iron, acrylic is blurred with plays of light, and the characters acquire a new three-dimensionality.
This gallery of portraits has expanded beyond family boundaries as a result of requests for commissioned works, as in the case of the painting “Ilaria.”
MARIA ROSARIA called ADA
Size: 190 x 124 cm
Materials: iron, wood, acrylic, coffee powder, spotlight
Date: 2022
The painting depicts Maria Rosaria (known as Ada), the artist’s mother.
Derived from a 1963 photograph, the woman’s face is composed of 6 overlapping layers of iron, painted in acrylic.
Opened in the center by an iron plate-corresponding to the shirt, skirt, and belt-the overcoat is a machined olive tree trunk, into which 33 embossed steel flowers are grafted. Each flower consists of a series of iron wires, interlocked with each other and embedded in the wood, and rests on a series of cuts in the trunk (the corresponding leaves).
Note the detail of the watch (acrylic on iron) sticking out of the woman’s right sleeve.
The brown background is inspired by the sepia color of old photographs, the original reference of the subject depicted.
Characteristic of the artist, the light outside the painting always has a semantic significance. Here it focuses on the face of the deceased mother and reveals the strength she had in life
Fernando
Size: 140 x 100 cm
Materials: iron, acrylic, coffee powder
Date: 2022
Made through multiple layers of iron, the artist’s son is depicted with a confident smile while talking on the phone. The layers of iron, assembled with meticulous care, create a three-dimensional composition that plays with light and shadow. The subject is elegantly dressed in a khaki green suit and white shirt, while the explosive background of bright colors adds dynamism to the work.
The texture of the background is thick through the use of acrylic-mixed coffee powder and gives a textural dimension to the entire painting, while chiaroscuros are rendered through the differences in thickness between the various layers of iron.
genevra
Size: 177 x 124 cm
Materials: iron, wood, acrylic, coffee powder
Date: 2022
This painting depicts the artist’s daughter in a sweet, embarrassed smile.
The work is divided into three parts: the face is composed of six overlapping iron plates painted in acrylic; the wooden bust in relief depicts the girl’s dress, while the iron outline outlines and hints at the silhouette of the body.
The patterning of the dress is reproduced through a series of carvings in live wood, painted in white acrylic. The upper and lower embroideries, on the other hand, are rendered through chrome-plated iron details. Around the young woman’s neck sparkles a necklace.
The shaped arms allow for play with light: a delicate shadow caresses the subject’s left hip.
The chlorophyll and bottle green hues of the background, with cocoa-colored nuances, provide an enveloping color context. This vibrant palette creates a visual balance, accentuating the botanical appeal of the work. The color triangle formed by the green, brown tones and light details blends harmoniously and illuminates the canvas.
In “Ginevra,” as in many of his works, Roberto Miglietta interweaves his family’s past and present with the environmental tragedy of Salento. The combination of wood and iron, combined with the painting technique, gives the painting a living depth: works that tell a story of rebirth and restrained beauty, ready to blossom.
Rosanna laughing
Size: 126 x 153 cm
Materials: iron, wood, acrylic
Date: 2022
This painting immortalizes in a smile Rosanna, the artist’s wife, already depicted in two other works.
Miglietta’s favorite technique for face composition consists of superimposing six iron plates, each representing a shade of the complexion. Each section is painted in acrylic: the brushstrokes are homogeneous and firm. The woman’s clothes are also rendered through the fusion of wood, iron and paint.
The overcoat consists of a piece of olive tree trunk embedded on the forex panel. Cuts in the wood recreate colorful canyons while the orange-toned iron plate is the negative of a vivid pattern.
The woman shows a bag constructed through three iron plates. Holes in the central band hint at a darker, rust-colored interior. The thick texture of the brown background is achieved by mixing the color with coffee powder.
ROSANNA WINTER TIME
Size: 184 x 120 cm
Materials: iron, wood, acrylic, coffee powder, spotlight
Date: 2022
Inspired by a photograph from his youth, the artist’s wife is portrayed here. The face, hands, and neck are made by means of iron plates painted in acrylic using a technique dear to Miglietta.
The middle part of the dress, the straps and the bag in the woman’s left hand, on the other hand, are covered by an additional iron plate, pierced and unpainted, from which the color chosen for the layers below can be glimpsed (powder for the straps, emerald green for the lower part of the dress, purple for the upper part and the bag).
Set on the subject, earrings, necklace and belt are also unpainted, thus becoming important highlights of the painting.
The impressive, raised olive wood overcoat is worked with carving, planer and acrylic paint.
A dark oval section stands out irregularly against an earth-smeared white background. Many small circles cluster around the figure.
Here, as elsewhere, Miglietta adopts a painting technique that gives the background a thick texture.
The light on the woman’s face creates a sharp shadow close to the subject, representing an early exploration by the artist into the field of shadows, which would be developed in a series of later paintings (see the collection Lights and Shadows).
The iron frame, also made by Miglietta, is colored greenish and echoes the color point of the patterned overcoat.
ILARIA
Measurements: Materials: iron, acrylic, coffee powder
date: 2022
