Black vidow with prey

In this small painting Ligabue summarizes the struggle for life in the image of a black widow who finishes off an inert bird with outstretched wings. The two images are superimposed - one frozen, the other moving - placed in the central part of the painting where the dull colors of the ground are dominant, while the upper part represents a forest full of trees that stand out against a blue sky, distant and indifferent to what happens in the foreground. A precise, horizontal line cuts the scene in two. For Ligabue insects did not represent repulsive animals, but indicated the very dynamics of life, the opposition of existence and death, the renewal of a cycle, a vitality that went beyond any disappearance.