In the hunting palaces of Italy's royal houses, the stag was the noblest prey. He was hunted and his antlers were hung on the wall as trophies – at Stupinigi near Turin, the House of Savoy even placed him as a figure on the dome of their hunting palace.
Here he returns. In the ballroom of an abandoned hunting palace stands a mighty stag, calm and immovable, looking down at the viewer. His coat glows in brilliant blue and quinacridone magenta, cadmium yellow burns on his brow, mane and shoulders; paint runs from his antlers in long streams. Above him hangs a Murano chandelier, the only warm light in the room. On the walls, the antlers of his ancestors; at his hooves, the broken trophy shield and the hunters' horn. The room stays black, grey and white. The colour names come from the pigments David paints his originals with.
Il Principe tells of the hunted who becomes the ruler. He takes back his place – with presence instead of noise. Quite in Machiavelli's spirit, the palace belongs to the one who holds it.
In portrait format, the stag stands before you at full height. In the entrance hall, the study or above the fireplace, Il Principe gives the room a master.
