Italian pencil artist Marco Mazzoni‘s work goes far beyond technical perfection. His representation of historical healing women is enigmatic and sublime. Often leaving the eyes blank or covered with an abundance of birds, butterflies and flowers, he gives the impression of a deeper inward focused sight, as well as obscuring the identity of the individual. Many female healers in the past – both medicine woman and midwives – were brutally persecuted by religion, some even burnt as witches… Mazzoni’s work captures their deep connection with nature and their innate power and femininity with delicacy and beautiful detail.

A patient buried in the hot sand looks out from under a shade that protects his face from the sun in Siwa, Egypt, August 12, 2015. In the searing heat of summer in western Egypt, at the hottest time of the day, sufferers of rheumatism, joint pain, infertility or impotence lie buried neck-deep in the sand of Siwa near Dakrour Mountain. Locals say taking a sand bath is a natural therapy with powers to cure many medical conditions. (Photo by Asmaa Waguih/Reuters)

Dani tribeswoman smokes a cigarette and shows her amputated fingers in, Western New Guinea, Indonesia, August 2016. Deep in the highlands of Western New Guinea, Indonesia, lives one of the world’s most isolated tribes. Known as the Dani people, the tribe was unwittingly discovered by American philanthropist, Richard Archbold, after an expedition in 1938. (Photo by Teh Han Lin/Barcroft Images)

Newborn sea lion “Kaya” crawls at the enclosure at the zoo in Wuppertal, Germany July 23, 2015. Kaya was born on July 4, 2015 in the zoo, officials said. (Photo by Ina Fassbender/Reuters)

Members of Brighton Swimming Club brave the early morning temperature to take a dip in the sea east of the pier on January 5, 2022. The club, founded in 1860, is the oldest in England. (Photo by Simon Dack/Alamy Live News)

People attend The Night of Ancient Bonfires event in Saulkrasti, Latvia on August 27, 2022. During The Night of Ancient Bonfires people light bonfires along the coastline of the Baltic Sea. (Photo by Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

Lightning strikes during a storm over the Ionian Sea in Calabria, Italy on June 27, 2016. (Photo by Alfonso Di Vincenzo/Pacific Press/Rex Features)

Boys eat at a rubbish dump where they are collecting recyclable waste outside Yemen's Red Sea port city of Houdieda January 20, 2016. (Photo by Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters)