Madonna's son Rocco Ritchie takes the art world by storm

There he is, attending movie premieres in Paris, enjoying the company of the European cultural elite, and all that in relative anonymity. Because honestly, would you guess that this is the son of Madonna?

Rocco Ritchie is the son of Madonna and British director Guy Ritchie. Who do you think he resembles most?

Much beyond being the typical "son of," the twenty-something is carving out a career as a visual artist.

Rocco Ritchie could have taken advantage of his parent's fame, but in his first years as an artist, he preferred to adopt Rhed as a pseudonym.

Rocco Ritchie moved from the United States to London to study Fine Arts. While there, he spent time at the prestigious Central Saint Martins and the Royal Drawing School in Shoreditch.

Since 2018, the year in which he held his first exhibition, he has been represented by the London gallery Tanya Baxter Contemporary.

Here, he's helping out street artist Endless spraying graffiti.

According to experts from the art world, the young artist is not doing badly and his paintings could be reaching a market value of around €30,000 ($31,640). Some media outlets like ABC have reported that his work has already exceeded €100,000 ($105,470).

He had remained in the shadows under his pseudonym until his friend Jerrod Blandino, founder of cosmetics and makeup firm Too Faced, discovered who Rhed really was: Rocco Ritchie's alter ego.

In a post from December 15, 2021, Jerrod Blandino appeared with Rocco and a painting of Rhed behind them, commenting: "Artists are here to disturb the peace and this child is changing things. Very proud to add this amazing piece to our collection from the super talented Rocco Ritchie."

You just had to put the pieces together to discover that Rhed and Rocco Ritchie were the same person. And, by the way, it's likely that Jerrod Blandino 'outed' the artist because works of Madonna's son may simply be worth a lot more in the art world than those of an anonymous guy.

Rocco now talks more openly about his personal style.
"I feel like my painting style has changed a lot over the years through a mix of intensely drawing from life, growing up, and constantly being inspired by the world around me."

"My main theme has been to deeply discover the anatomy of the human body. Not so much the structure, but as an object of beauty, how it moves, ages, changes…"

The gallery representing him has affirmed that his work has an eclectic cultural background: "With a childhood between New York and London, his paintings exude an attractive mix of innocence and confidence. He embraces a vibrant colour and expressionist style, along with the freedom and dynamic energy of New York graffiti art."

Critics generally see potential in the young artist, but other art experts, such as The Guardian's Jonathan Jones, or Rachel Campbell-Johnston, a critic for The Times, have claimed that Rhed is nothing to write home about and only sells to 'posh fools.'

Be that as it may, what is clear is that art runs through Rocco Ritchie's veins. Music has influenced his work since he was very young, as he himself has acknowledged. The world of cinema also informs his art, the son of one of Britain's most famous directors says.

The young man has developed a very personal style, one which has evolved from grunge to retro (reminiscent of the characters in his father's gangster movies). And he has even worked as a model for Alexander Wang's Adidas collection.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie married in 2000 after meeting in 1999 thanks to Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. Rocco came into the world nine months later, in Los Angeles.

Rocco's birthplace was interesting because his parents lived in London. Madonna chose to give birth in the USA because she controversially said that British hospitals were too Victorian.

For a while, they seemed like a very happy family, and in front of the cameras, Guy Ritchie and Madonna seemed like the perfect couple.

But then things went wrong...

Madonna and Guy Ritchie divorced in 2008. Rocco then followed his mother around the world on each of her tours, and he even performed with her at some of her shows.

In 2015, Rocco wanted to go live in London with his father, which provoked a legal battle between his parents. Since 2016, he has been able to live with Guy Ritchie, and they have a very close relationship. They also look very similar.

The reason that he wanted to live with his father was the complicated relationship he had with his mother. Madonna seemed to be somewhat controlling. With his father, Rocco has found greater stability.

Perhaps Madonna was controlling because her son was a little wild in his adolescence. When he was 16, he got arrested for marijuana possession. As a punishment, his parents made him work for a few months as a delivery man.

El País reports that the boy even blocked his mother on Instagram in 2016. But at the moment, things seem to be going much better.

Romantically, he has been linked to the model Kim Turnbull since 2017. They are often spotted together at cultural events or just walking around London.

Wherever he goes, Rocco Ritchie displays his own, 1950s clothing style. It seems he's gotten more comfortable in the spotlights, so we will surely hear more of Madonna and Guy Ritchie's son!