A 60-meter-long "Vitruvian Man" by a Ukrainian artist has appeared in Italy

Ukrainian artist Mykyta Zigura has implemented a large-scale land art project in Italy called "New Renaissance". The work, 60 meters in diameter, was created in a field near the town of Castell'Arquato in the Emilia-Romagna region. The composition can be seen both from the hill on which the historic town is located and from the 14th-century fortress.

The basis of the work was Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", on which the artist superimposed the symbol of the pacific. Thus, the author combined one of the key images of the Renaissance with the international symbol of peace, creating an artistic statement about the future of human civilization.

According to Mykyta Zigura, the project addresses the ideas of humanism that emerged during the Renaissance and draws parallels with modernity, which many researchers call the “new Middle Ages” due to wars, fear, and social fragmentation. The work proposes a rethinking of these challenges through the birth of a new humanism centered on the value of human life, peace, and nature.

"New Renaissance" became a continuation of the large-scale art project "Peaceful Sky", on which the artist has been working since 2022. If the initial works were a reaction to Russian aggression against Ukraine, the new stage of the project goes beyond the specific conflict and raises the broader question of the future of world civilization and the possibility of abandoning war as a way to resolve conflicts.

To create the land art, the artist used ecological materials. The canvas was the surface of the field after the harvest, and the paint was made of charcoal. According to the author's idea, the natural color of the Italian soil echoes the tone of the historical sheets on which Leonardo da Vinci created his famous "Vitruvian Man."

"It took several years to prepare and negotiate with the owners of the land. I also experimented a lot with materials to make sure they were completely environmentally friendly, but remained expressive from an artistic point of view," Mykyta Zigura told Marbeks.

The project has become a new international artistic expression of the Ukrainian artist, who through large-scale land art raises the themes of peace, humanism, and humanity's responsibility for its own future.