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Photographs: ITALIAN ICONS

Wednesday 18 June 2025, 04:00 PM • Milan

35

Franco Fontana

(1933)

Paesaggio (Puglia), 1987

Artist's Resale Right

Estimate

€ 2.500 - 3.500

Sold

€ 5.160

The price includes buyer's premium

Information

Vintage Dye transfer print, mounted on original passepartout
cm 50,8 x 61 (cm 60 x 80 passepartout) | 20 x 24 in. (23.6 x 31.5 in. passepartout)

Titled, signed and dated in black ink on the white superior recto margin and signed, titled and dated in pencil on the passeparout recto
Framed


Literature

N. Ballario, C. Mestrovich (edited by), Franco Fontana. Colore, Ed. Skira, 2024, cover
Already in his early days as a simple amateur, Franco Fontana (Modena 1933) stood out for his choice of colour, thanks to which he obtained his first recognitions at the beginning of the 1960s, which encouraged him to turn to professional photography. Since then he has been internationally recognised for his highly personal interpretation of landscapes, organising exhibitions in galleries and museums all over the world, publishing more than seventy books, collaborating with important newspapers and receiving prizes and awards.   

While many photographers continued to prefer black and white for its ductility and undoubted appeal, Franco Fontana realised that these same characteristics could also be attributed to colour. It was in this chromatic universe that he brought out his vision of the world focused especially on a consideration of the landscape with implied but intuitable references to abstractionism. Every single image such as this one (marked by the contrasts between the blue of the sky and the brown of the farmed land, between the horizontality of the lines and the verticality of the tree standing at the centre of the scene) contains the characteristics of his research in this field. Even when he decides to set his eyes on the United States, he remains faithful to his vision: the journey along the legendary Route 66 thus becomes a personal interpretation of reportage in a story punctuated by sudden visions and saturated colours. 

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