5S26 L’incontro di Gesù con la samaritana

XXIV Alfredo Catarsini Regional Award 2026
The memory of the territory in the Path of Catarsini’s places

Jesus’ Encounter with the Samaritan Woman at the Well

My reinterpretation of this work by Alfredo Catarsini is based on a clay high relief on a 1:1 scale compared to the original, measuring 40 x 30 cm.

Made in Starting from the right, the figure of Jesus is in an upright position, his face stylized toward the viewer. His body is wrapped in a long robe characterized by soft but clearly defined folds, which rise decisively from the base, creating a clearly sculptural effect. The hands, also highly stylized, contribute to the dynamics of the composition: one is placed at the center of the chest, while the other extends toward the center, drawing the gaze toward the fulcrum of the scene

At the center is the well, rendered with a rounded shape and with the bricks highlighted through the relief. In the upper part is the well’s stand, created by combining positive and negative relief: the left side emerges, while the right is hollowed out, following the perspective suggested by Catarsini in the original work.

On the left is the figure of the Samaritan woman, facing the well. Her body is almost completely wrapped in her robe, barely allowing the profile of her face to be seen.

Her hands are oriented toward the well, engaged in an everyday gesture that suggests the action of washing an object, similar to a plate or bowl.

In the upper part of the background, slight depressions develop that evoke homes, while the figures rest on an oblique plane in relief in the lower area, designed to create the illusion of a floor and give greater visual stability to the entire scene.