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Little Statue, Italian American woodcarving, 1999
Charles M. Cerone (b. 1944)
Nonantum, Massachusetts
Basswood, paint, iron, artificial flowers
36 x 22 x 13 1/2 in. (statue); 37 x 22 x 22 in. (base)
Collection of the artist
Photography by Jason Dowdle
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This piece expresses the religious devotion and pride in Italian heritage that its maker, Charles Cerone, shares with those who attend the Saint Mary of Carmen Fiesta. This five-day festival, which takes place in a close-knit Italian neighborhood in Newton, celebrates the Virgin Mary's saint day in July. It culminates with a procession in which a large statue of Mary is paraded through the streets. Years of participating in the festival inspired Cerone, a carpenter, to carve this little statue. Nicholas Collela, a fellow memberof the Society of Maria S.S. del Carmine, painted the statue. And those small faces? "They're the angels. This is baby Jesus with the crown and these are the angels."
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