As I saw a man with a brush cleaning the smiling sculpture of a winged lion on the façade of a church, I felt the situation had a delightful humor. The statue seemed to be alive, enjoying immensely the ministrations of the workman, its paws curled under its chin in pleasure. The man has his back toward us—yet his personality comes through as we feel his respect for the lion: he has a tender touch with his brush and seems affected by the closeness of the smiling beast, even though it’s stone.
While having humor, this photograph is about something deeply serious: good will—scientifically defined by Eli Siegel as “the desire to have something else stronger and more beautiful, for this desire makes oneself stronger and more beautiful.” The man beautifies and strengthens the lion with his cleansing brush, and one can feel in the poise of his body, a rising diagonal, he is stronger and more beautiful himself.
—Arnold Perey
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