Playing on the steps of an Italian villa 

Aurelio Tiratelli painted this scene of children playing on the steps of an Italian villa with oil on canvas. Dominating the foreground are the figures of chickens, symbols of domesticity and pastoral life, resonating with ancient symbols of fertility and renewal. These motifs hearken back to classical antiquity, where similar scenes of everyday life were immortalized in frescoes and mosaics. The chickens, seemingly mundane, recall the sacred fowl associated with deities like Persephone, linking the mundane to the divine. Recall the mosaics of Pompeii, where such fowls were depicted alongside scenes of leisure. The innocence of childhood is a timeless theme, but how it is portrayed changes. We find echoes of this in Renaissance art, where children are often depicted as miniature adults, imbued with symbolic meaning. It’s a cyclical progression, isn’t it? This image taps into a collective memory of simpler times, engaging us on a subconscious level.