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Nature and Anatomy Collide in Hybrid Illustrative Paintings

Anatomical illustrations become twisted like fables in a new series of works by Italian painter Nunzio Paci.
Anatomy of a dream. Images courtesy of the artist

The corporeal and the creative spirit become seamlessly intertwined in the latest set of hybrid painting-illustrations by Nunzio Paci. Human organs meld with the vines and roots of disparate plant life. In Anatomy of a dream, for example, a garland of flowers and foliage sprout from a woman’s neck muscles.

Words of dust

The Italian artist's new batch of work is a continuation of his vivid and macabre style. His imagery plays with themes of life, death, growth, and decay with romantic poise. In Reflection of wild rose, the artist paints a web of tree roots growing out from a woman’s chest that tangle with her arteries and muscle tissue. Paci’s floral embellishments give his paintings a fantastical quality that is simultaneously grounded in reality through their scientific representation of the human body.

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Reflection of wild rose

Beyond his oil and pencil work on canvas, Paci’s fascination with the human anatomy is perhaps most evident in his x-ray portraits. In compositions like Papaver field and Vertebrae in bloom, he overlays printed x-ray sheets with thin decorative outlines of plants.

Papaver field

Vertebrae in bloom

Check out more works by Nunzio Paci on his website.

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