BRUNO MERLI IS THE ARTIST CREATED IN 1980 IN FLORENCE, ITALY WHERE ALL THE FAMOUS ITALIAN ARTISTS ORIGINATED. HE IS ONE OF THE BEST MASTER SCULPTORS. HAND-PAINTED

     The work is inspired by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's (1696–1770) oil on canvas, housed in the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. This depiction of the Virgin Mary is done according to traditional Christian iconography, and represents her Immaculate Conception, free from original sin. She is shown standing on a globe with her hands held together in prayer. A gray serpent with an apple stuck in its mouth is pinned to the ground as one of her feet rests on its head in her triumph over Original Sin. She wears her signature blue cloak over a reddish outer garment. The blue represents the Virgin’s purity, and connotes her royal status, the red garment signifies traits connected with motherhood, including love, passion, and devotion.