When artist Todd Lehman attended a performance at the Teatro di Pupi (Puppet Theater) in Siracusa, Sicily, he was so moved and inspired by the play that he proceeded to study the text that was the basis for the piece. That text was Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem, Orlando Furioso. The story takes place against the background of war between Charlemagne's Christian paladins and the Saracen army that invaded Europe in an attempt to overthrow the Christian Empire. The poem depicting Orlando's quest is about war, love, and the romantic ideal of chivalry, mixing realism, fantasy, humor, and tragedy. Lehman's painting portrays these qualities with an energetic flourish, using vibrancy of color and jagged strokes in oil and pencil on a white paper background, which symbolizes the purity of the hero's chivalric quest.
