Like a Donkey

Mr. Savethewall – Like a Donkey

Like a Donkey is a unique artwork by Mr. Savethewall made with mixed media on canvas and presented in the original oval golden frame chosen by the artist. The work is part of the most iconic production by the Como-based artist, known for his ironic and conceptual approach to representing social conformity.

The image depicts the profile of a donkey against a green background, rendered in a sharp graphic style with flat colors that recall the aesthetics of street art and advertising posters. The most emblematic detail is the blinders worn by the animal, featuring the Instagram logo at the center—a recurring symbol in Mr. Savethewall’s visual language, alluding to the condition of those who are led, conditioned, or willingly blinded to their surroundings.

The donkey, laden with symbolic meaning tied to stubbornness, blind obedience, and marginality, becomes a vehicle for a critical commentary on the contemporary individual, often reduced to following paths laid out by others without questioning the direction.

Like a Donkey fits perfectly within the artist’s trajectory, as he continues—through his direct, ironic, and deeply conceptual style—to provoke visual reflection on societal mechanisms and individual identity.

Mr. Savethewall, Kiss Me: Prices and Value

Feel free to contact us for more information about Like a Donkey by Mr. Savethewall and other available works by the artist.

Discover the wonders of art through the wide selection of pieces available on our website.

Mr. Savethewall – Like a Donkey - 2025 - 60x80 cm

MR. SAVETHEWALL BIOGRAPHY

Pierpaolo Perretta, aka Mr. Savethewall, is an Italian artist from Como. Mr. Savethewall was not immediately born as an artist. In fact, he began his career in a very different world from the artistic one, where he also became an important manager. As time goes by, however, he begins to feel the need for a change, to finally put his great creativity and talent to good use.

Moved by his great passion for art and, in particular, for street art, he therefore decided to devote himself full-time to this new activity. In 2013, he gave up a secure and well-paid job to express his vision of the world and society through art.

Mr. Savethewall immediately proves to be a different kind of street artist. In fact, he declares himself against the defacement of walls and, for this reason, decides not to create his murals directly on the walls, but to use easily removable adhesive tape. He also uses recyclable and environmentally friendly materials, such as cardboard. This gave rise to his stage name, which literally means Mr. Save the Wall, fully declaring his desire to protect urban decorum.

MR. SAVETHEWALL ARTWORKS: AN IRONIC INTERPRETATION OF SOCIETY

In just a short time, Mr. Savethewall proves to be an artist of high calibre and, above all, multifaceted. It is no coincidence, in fact, that he is gaining an increasing foothold in the art scene. In his works, Mr. Savethewall makes use of languages from street art and communication, as well as from the latest trends in contemporary art, recalling in his works famous artists to whom he looks up to: first and foremost, Banksy and Damien Hirst.

In Mr. Savethewall's works, it is clear to perceive an interpretation of today's society in an ironic and critical key. His works indeed present strong, direct and targeted messages. Mr. Savethewall's aim is not only to communicate his personal vision of society to his audience, but also to convey messages that are as clear as they are provocative, prompting the viewer to reflect personally on the world around him and its contradictions. From this comes the use of famous and immediately recognisable images and subjects, to which he also adds texts. In doing so, he not only makes the message even easier to grasp, but also leaves no room for misinterpretation.

WORKS MR. SAVETHEWALL: THE CONCEPT OF DÉTOURNEMENT

The practice of so-called conceptual détournement has been known in the art world since the time of the Dadaists. This term refers to an artist's takeover of an existing image or work, of which he or she distorts the original meaning and gives it a new and often opposite meaning. This practice has been assimilated and internalised by Mr. Savethewall who uses it in his works.

In order to express his light but effective irony towards contemporary society, the artist draws inspiration from personalities from the world of culture, cinema and art history, which are re-proposed in a completely different light that moves away from the original purpose of these subjects and their meaning or function.

In addition, Mr. Savethewall's works do not fail to recall the religious and political spheres. Regardless of the chosen medium, therefore, his works all present strong, direct and targeted messages.

THE ICONIC SUBJECT: THE FROG BY MR. SAVETHEWALL

Famous all over the world is Mr. Savethewall's depiction of the well-dressed and elegant contemporary man who, however, has the appearance of a Frog. The artist's aim is to warn of the falsity of the famous fairy tale of the Princess and the Frog: the frog, even if he turns into a prince, is still a frog. The true moral of the tale is therefore that, as the artist himself states, 'a frog, even if well dressed, is and always remains a frog'.

But not only that: as anticipated, the artist does not remain superficial to his interpretations. The frog-man thus also becomes a representation of his acquaintances, real people, who pose by showing off their Rolexes and walking around well-dressed. In reality, beneath the appearance that often deceives, these people show themselves for what they really are: frogs.

This critical reflection gave rise to the famous work entitled Kiss Me, which has now become one of his best known and most iconographic works.

CUPID AND PSYCHE IN A CONTEMPORARY VERSION

Another of Mr. Savethewall's most recognisable works is his reinterpretation of the famous sculpture by master Canova, Cupid and Psyche.

In this case too, the artist Mr. Savethewall inserts a message into the work that is both ironic and critical. The work depicts, in fact, the two protagonists of Canova's Cupid and Psyche intent, however, on taking a selfie, an emblematic symbol of today's relationship with smartphones.

THE IPAD GOD: A CRITIQUE OF THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY

Mr. Savethewall has created artworks with a very strong and provocative message, at times almost dramatic in how well it reflects today's reality.

The subject of these works is a small girl with blond hair who, bent over an Ipad, prays to it as if it were a divinity. The dramatic part of this work is the purpose of the little girl's prayer: to ask the Ipad to give her back her father, who is too busy with work to dedicate any time to her. Mr. Savethewall wants to awaken the consciences of all those people who do not realise that time spent working leads them to neglect their affections.

THE BIRDS OF MR. SAVETHEWALL AND THE SOCIAL WORLD

Among the most popular subjects of Mr. Savethewall's works are definitely the little birds. These two subjects, one real and the other the symbol of Twitter, try to communicate with each other but without success.

The meaning of these works is the irresolvable incommunicability between the real and virtual worlds, unable to meet in a common point.

Mr. Savethewall: Artworks for sale with Prices & Value at Deodato Arte

If you are interested in buying works by Mr. Savethewall and discover the prices of the artist's works, Deodato Arte offers a selection of the artist's works for sale online.

If you are interested in knowing about Mr. Savethewall's prices, values or which works will be on display at the Deodato Arte Contemporary Art Gallery, do not hesitate to contact us by sending an e-mail to galleria@deodato.com.

The artwork is delicate and will be packed with bubble wrap and rigid supports to protect it from potential damage during transportation. It does not require a wooden box and delivery to EU countries takes 2-5 business days.

For deliveries outside the EU there may be a clearance delay at customs. Contact galleria@deodato.com to receive an estimate of possible customs delays.

The shipping cost is calculated before payment. The cost of packaging is included in the shipping cost.

For more information, please visit our Shipping Methods, Returns and Refunds page.

We are happy that you decided to buy an artwork. We'll explain how to do it, but always remember that you can also buy via email (galleria@deodato.com), by phone (+39 02.80886294) or by physically coming to one of our galleries.

PRICE

If the price is visible in the product fiche you can click "ADD TO CART" and proceed autonomously choosing later how to pay and how you like shipping (or pick-up it in one of our store).

If the price is not visible, you must press the "SHOW PRICE" button, so you will receive an email with the price and a button, "DON'T LOOSE IT, BUY NOW": if the price is right for you click on this button and you will be sent back to the site to complete the purchase.

TAX

if you LIVE IN EU

If you live in Europe (CEE) the price we show you already includes taxes. The works are taxed either with VAT exposed (5%) or VAT with the margin, if you are a private person you do not change anything, if you are a company: in In the first case, you will recover the VAT, in the second, no. When you put the works in the cart you will be separated from the vat exposed.

If you DON'T LIVE IN EU and you want an EXTRA EU shipping

Many works (not all) have an exposed VAT of 5% included in the price, this vat will be spun off! Obviously you will pay the VAT to your destination country, if due. For example if you live in Switzerland you save 5% but you will have to pay 8.1% to your customs, if you live in Hong Kong you will save 5% and you will not have to pay anything to your customs (lucky you).

SHIPPING

Shipments are insured, check the product fiche for more information, or write to galleria@deodato.com. For works in stock the delivery time for Italy is three working days, before placing your order please contact us via email (galleria@deodato.com) or by phone (+39 02.80886294) to check availability. 

PAYMENT

If you complete the purchase on the site you can use a credit card, or you can make a bank transfer. Payment in cash is accepted up to 5,000 euros physically in one of our stores. Payments in BitCoin or cryptocurrencies are NOT accepted.