THE PEREGRINE PEARL (2013, graphite on Ingres paper, 25 × 35 cm)

Botticelli
The Peregrine Pearl is a study of the head of Beauty, one of the Three Graces depicted in Botticelli’s masterpiece Primavera.

The Three Graces
The work seeks to capture the face of Beauty as a Platonic idea. Since antiquity, Beauty has been associated with one of the Three Graces, a connection that has endured throughout the history of Art and Literature. In Botticelli’s Primavera, Beauty appears intertwined with the other two Graces, representing Chastity and Voluptuousness (Pleasure).

Peregrine
The adjective peregrine in the title alludes to the expansive character of the idea of Beauty —an essence that may be found not only in the other two Graces but also in many forms and manifestations of nature.