There is nothing casual in Delfina Marcello’s paintings, but everything is unpredictable. Grace is received, but it is not expected. Between reliance upon the protection of a Saint, who becomes a sort of mediator, and divine intervention, of which we do not know the mechanism but only the result, there is an inconceivable void where the qualitative leap, the miracle, occurs. What is the role of the image, which, in the form of a painting, becomes an object called an ex-voto? Why is a representation chosen, instead of thanking the Saint in the silence of one’s heart or with the words spoken to evoke his/her help? If artists make this choice, the ex-voto becomes their language, what will lead them to other questions, including the fundamental one for all of Delfina Marcello’s work: Can an image transcend itself? In the incessant attempt to transcend, the context is deprived of preconceptions, but never loses its importance. On the contrary, it takes on a new dimension. In the Ex-votos, the theme of femininity is compared with that of the Sacred in the figures of three Saints whom the artist thanks: Saint Rita, Saint Lucia and Saint Teresa. In the tradition of the Catholic Church, their powers refer to Fate (desperate cases), to the eye (sight and light), to the heart (salvation through love). Furthermore, these three Saints represent different models of a woman’s life: Saint Lucia is a virgin who dies at 23 defending her virginity, Saint Rita is a mother and widow who retires to the convent to help the needy, Saint Teresa is Doctor of the Church, mystic and writer. We will never know what were the direct reasons why the artist chose these Saints, with their particular attributes. I would avoid following the psycho-symbological path that does not offer adequate answers. These great women are not pictured but present in their acting behind the scenes. That acting to the detriment of anyone who desires it, of both the spectator and the artist, is the real ex-voto that we perceive in the acrobatic compositional tension.