Kate O’Hara - ‘Pipistrello della Morte’

16"x20" // Colored pencil and watercolor on wood //  **SOLD** 

Pipistrello della Morte   According to Italian legend, Pipistrello della Morte are ancient creatures that inhabit the mountain forests of central Italy. They are said to be large bat-like creatures with fox faces, reptilian tails and wings made of petals layered like feathers. Residing in large broods, they are extremely irritable and vicious, fighting constantly amongst each other. There are count- less tales of travelers passing through the forest being savagely attacked by hordes of these beasts. Due to their ravenous attraction to anything gold, bodies have been found ripped to shreds as the creatures search for the precious metal. Allegedly the last person to have seen a Pipistrello della Morte and lived to speak of it, was Brother Bartholomew of the Farfa Abbey, in 1553. The monk was supposedly so shaken by the encounter, he promptly took a vow of silence which he kept for the rest of his lifetime.