By Estefania Medina
Vatican City, Apr 25 (EFE).- Mauro Pallota, under the pseudonym “Maupal,” paints murals related to Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88, on the streets of Rome.
Maupal’s eyes light up, accompanied by an innocent smile and a sincere modesty, while speaking of Pope Francis.
Last year he received a commission from the Argentinian pontiff to transmit his values. “And translate his speech through my drawings to make them reach everyone,” Maupal said in an interview with EFE.
Maupal began to draw the pontiff because his face reminded him of his grandfather. However, what really won his heart was seeing that the pope’s first official trip was to the Italian island of Lampedusa (main gateway to Europe for migrants through the Central Mediterranean).
“I thought of painting him as a superhero, but as an alternative one: Without abs, with belly and glasses, he carries a briefcase in which the word ‘Values’ is written and from him appears the scarf of the football club he was a fan of, the San Lorenzo de Almagro of Buenos Aires.”
The works of Mauro Pallota (Rome, 1972) are another jewel of art in the Italian capital: visitors and neighbors of Rome recognize and look for his graffiti, which are often erased by the police.
Although at first he acknowledged feeling angry on seeing his works destroyed, it has now stopped bothering him. “What I want is that they remain in everyone’s memory, I don’t mind that they are ephemeral and the person who passes by and captures them with a photo can make them eternal.”
The pontiff is portrayed by Pallota with sympathy and as a man “with spiritual as well as earthly values.”
The news of Jorge Bergoglio’s death shook the artist, it was something “very traumatic,” he said. “I came to see Pope Francis about five or six times and it generated a very particular empathy for me. He told me that my idea was great, although at first he told me with humor that he had drawn him a little fat,” he recalled laughing.
The pontiff fell in love with Mauro’s works and therefore asked the Holy See to commission seven of his works to accompany the message for Lent 2024. The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development published a new illustration of the well-known street artist to accompany the pope’s message.
The poster showed the pope, followed by three other young people, pedaling toward the path that points to the “common good,” leaving behind the path of “profit.”
This street artist, who also has designs in other European countries, such as Poland and Portugal, has a wide range of work with which he seeks to raise awareness about social issues and everyday activities.
His latest creation, after the death of Francis, can be seen in the street Borgo Pio in Rome: The briefcase with the word ‘Values’ and the scarf of the San Lorenzo de Almagro on the superhero Francis, but now on the ground. EFE
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