Mother in Metamorphosis Idolized, 1940

A.G. Rizzoli’s oeuvre is comprised of distinct smaller bodies of work he created over his lifetime. Rizzoli referred to his art from 1935 to 1944 by the acronym SYMPA. The first letter “S” stood for his Symbolization drawings, a group of works rendering the metamorphosis of a family member, friend or event into an architectural structure. Among them, Rizzoli developed five birthday tributes to his mother, which grew more elaborate every year following her death in 1937. This particular personification of her illustrates her transformation into a gothic palace resembling a cathedral. His use of the word “Kathredal” instead of cathedral, in the upper left corner, is a direct reference to the number three, which in a religious context may refer to the holy trinity. Rizzoli’s depiction of his mother as this structure emphasizes not only his veneration of her spirituality, but also his pride in his own devoutness. His use of symbolism reaches far beyond the possible, and we see here a pillar erected, blowing smoke, swirling around the Kathredal. Rizzoli renders his mother’s being moving beyond the physical and spiritual as we understand it, and floating to an even higher plane; he writes along the pillar “aloft the skies and painting to something higher still.”