Eugene Berman is a keen observer of his surroundings but never translates his vision in a literal way. In " Sicilian Landscape," the artist transforms part of a grey desert into something green and fertile. Front and center in the composition, Berman paints a barren hill to resemble two female breasts. Rich with life-giving abundance, their rounded forms bulge and point upward toward the viewer. Swirling thin lines define their botanical shapes that culminate in the nipple. Is this Berman's way of saying this space is "Mother Earth" in her nurturing, rich, and fertile glory? br Initialed Cartouche lower center br Inscribe on back Roma, Sicilian Landscape II, Jan, 1965 E.B. br Collection of the estate of Mr. Robert Tobin of San Antonio, Texas