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Janus Lab Italy

Christ in the Desert

Christ in the Desert

€150,00
€150,00
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Inspired by an 1872 oil painting by the Russian artist Ivan Kramskoi, Christ in the Desert (also known as Christ in the Wilderness), reflecting on the temptation of Christ.

A sense of loss and total abandonment emerges—drained of strength, Christ reflects on his existential condition. A concept not unfamiliar to any of us, lost as we often are in the desolate landscapes of our own lives—where people surround us yet do not always offer love, or where we find ourselves left alone.

The surface of the mask has been shaped first by roughly forming the metal, then chiselled to define details that remain intentionally unresolved. It is later textured through the application of flame and enameled with a combination of transparent enamel reacting to both the surface and the copper firescale. Shadows are deepened with black enamel, sifted and brushed onto the surface. Flakes of firescale further enrich the texture, settling unevenly across it.

In the eyes, silver foil enhances the hollowed forms—spaces where his true soul seems to rest, untouched by external events.

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Enamel - Le Grand Feu

“Smalti a Fuoco_ Un’arte di Sottecchio”

The art of fire enameling is an ancient and highly complex craft.

Rooted in precise gestures and knowledge acquired over time, it has, through the centuries, transformed simple metals—such as copper or silver—into objects of great value and artistic significance.

Today, it is largely confined to a few specialized creations and is often mistaken for industrially produced items or those made with polymer-based enamels. As a result, it remains mostly associated with traditionally styled aesthetic prototypes.

Only in rare cases has it broken free from classical aesthetics, giving rise to modern works crafted using ancient techniques—thanks to great, though now nearly forgotten, artisans.

These are the foundations of our own deeply personal journey: not only a rediscovery of enamel’s potential, but also a search for a new, contemporary language—one that reimagines how fire enameling can still express beauty and sophistication today.

The Origin of ...

Stories of ancient civilizations lost to time—where traces begin to resurface through climate change and environmental degradation. Both in icy regions and equatorial rainforests, new signs of past civilizations emerge.

Starting from those same carved stones—faces sculpted by ancient hands—I began to wonder about human expression: how to represent it, how to give it form. I started experimenting with shaping expressions -mimicking ancient relics- on copper, sculpting the metal and recreating those same lines. The hammer transforms the material in two ways: on one side it expands and deforms the surface; on the other, it leaves marks rich with texture.

It became inevitable for me to begin sculpting real faces, seeking to capture their emotions—their wonder, sadness, and joy. I am fascinated by how ancient civilizations, and more broadly by how cultures, have sought to depict their people—their identity, their symbolism, their spirit. That is the path this project follows.