Monday, January 8, 2018

Sister Justice


In May of 1976 I was in Rome and I acquired a fine-tip Koh-i-noor Rapidograph technical pen. This pen was good for making drawings anywhere and I did a lot of street drawings with it, while sitting on a camp stool. Curious folk sometimes gathered around me to see what I was drawing. This drawing is a rendering of a sculpture mounted on the facade of a government building in Rome, the "Ministry of Justice." It looks like a Roman goddess but is probably from the 20th century Fascist era. I love the helmet with wings at the front as well as the chainmail shirt. I liked the figure so much that I turned her into a superhero, "Sister Justice," as seen below.

The original drawings are quite small, so look closely if you want. 

Reddish-brown tech pen ink and watercolor on sketchbook page, each image about 3" x 5", spring 1976. Click on images for a larger view.

1 comment:

Texchanchan said...

No telling, but there's something about the curve of the helmet that does suggest the fascist era. I wonder how much of that public art is left.