Alla spezia varo della nave roma 

Leopoldo Metlicovitz created this vibrant chromolithograph poster, "Alla spezia varo della nave roma," in 1907. Here, a mermaid rises from the waves holding a laurel wreath as the ship Roma looms in the background. The laurel wreath, a symbol of victory and honor, hearkens back to ancient Greece and Rome, where it crowned athletes and emperors. This same motif reappears throughout history, adorning Renaissance portraits and neoclassical monuments, each time carrying echoes of past glories. Consider the mermaid herself. She's a figure of alluring danger, present in folklore across cultures. The mermaid embodies the subconscious pull of the unknown and the seductive, untamed aspects of nature. Metlicovitz taps into this deep-seated collective memory, stirring both fascination and a primal unease in the viewer. This potent image is a testament to the enduring power of symbols, forever reborn and reinterpreted across the currents of time.