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RECAPITULATON   After a life of isolation, heartbreaking loneliness and--in later years--physical disability, Sveva gathered all her courage and strength to embark on a mental and spiritual journey which took her to the deepest, most painful and joyous places of her past. There she examined the conditions and people that shaped her life and mind. In the process she gained insight about truth, humanity, love, and herself. These re-lived experiences became the content for her paintings and writings in Recapitulation, modelled loosely on Dante's Divine Comedy. Sveva's "journey" also took her through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, as she understood them.

The series comprises fifty-six large, luminous watercolour paintings. They are breathtaking in beauty, and inspired by a depth of knowledge and intelligence that breathes through every stroke. Detailed in style, they are also detailed in the breadth of the emotions and human condition they examine--from cruelty, betrayal, and senseless violence to passion, beauty, human achievement, and love.

As Sveva was nearing completion of the series, she became increasingly disabled, her hands so crippled with arthritis that holding the brush became almost impossible. In 1989, fourteen years after she began her journey, Recapitulation was finished. Five years later, the artist died.

Each of us is on a spiritual journey. Each of us can gather both inspiration and courage from Sveva Caetani's artistic accomplishment. This book tells the story of one human being, in whose struggle to understand life our own struggle is mirrored.

It's time to reflect and review what we have learned in our exploration of image-making strategies.
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