Christopher Ciccone — the younger brother of Madonna and an artist in his own right — died on Friday at the age of 63.
In a confirmation released to The Associated Press on Sunday by Ciccone's representative, Brad Taylor, he passed away in his hometown of Michigan after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Following the news of her brother's death, Madonna took to Instagram to express her grief, writing, “He was the closest human to me for so long . . . It's hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo. We took each other’s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood.”
“When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing,” Madonna wrote. “He was a painter a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, Which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him.”
Sharing that a love of the arts — specifically dance — was a "kind of superglue" that held them together and saved them both from the hardships experienced in the Midwestern town they grew up in, she didn't hold back from mentioning that they were, at times, estranged.
“But when my brother got sick, We found our way back to each other," she wrote. "I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible . . . I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere," she concluded.
Like his famous sister, Christopher got his start as a dancer and worked closely with her at various points in her career as a dresser and creative consultant, heavily involved as a director for Madonna’s The Girlie Show world tour in 1993, and serving as the art director for her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour.
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