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Lot Essay
This work is registered in the Santomaso Archives, Galleria Blu, Milan, under number SOT/383.
Executed in 1977, Lettera a Palladio no. 5 is one of a celebrated group of works that combine Santomaso's distinctive 'concrete abstract style' with his interest in the sublime and, most importantly, with the city that has been his home for much of his life Venice. Both in the light and in the format, he manages to evoke La Serenissima and its sense of light. Indeed, in its muted brightness, this painting recalls the haze of certain paintings by Canaletto. Crucially, by addressing this work to the mastermind behind so many of Venice's and the Veneto's most iconic buildings, the celebrated architect Palladio, Santomaso pays tribute to a certain idealism. In its own right, this painting claims its position as a part of a thread of tradition that has its basis in the beauty of Venice, of its light, of its buildings. The forms that comprise Lettera a Palladio no. 5 echo Palladian proportions in their composition, Santomaso demanding the attention and respect of his predecessor while himself humbly prostrating himself before the wonders, both natural and manmade, of his native city.
Executed in 1977, Lettera a Palladio no. 5 is one of a celebrated group of works that combine Santomaso's distinctive 'concrete abstract style' with his interest in the sublime and, most importantly, with the city that has been his home for much of his life Venice. Both in the light and in the format, he manages to evoke La Serenissima and its sense of light. Indeed, in its muted brightness, this painting recalls the haze of certain paintings by Canaletto. Crucially, by addressing this work to the mastermind behind so many of Venice's and the Veneto's most iconic buildings, the celebrated architect Palladio, Santomaso pays tribute to a certain idealism. In its own right, this painting claims its position as a part of a thread of tradition that has its basis in the beauty of Venice, of its light, of its buildings. The forms that comprise Lettera a Palladio no. 5 echo Palladian proportions in their composition, Santomaso demanding the attention and respect of his predecessor while himself humbly prostrating himself before the wonders, both natural and manmade, of his native city.