Purple Palm with Pyramids belongs to the research developed by Pino Settanni around 2000 on the relationship between photography, painting and the transformation of the photographic image.
The composition is dominated by a tall purple palm, strongly emphasised by its vertical format and set against an intense orange background. In the lower section, five pyramids recede into space, introducing a geometric counterpoint to the irregular, organic form of the palm.
Settanni intervenes on the photographic image through colour, moving beyond its purely documentary function. The purple of the palm and the vivid orange ground are deliberately anti-naturalistic. Photography becomes the starting point for an autonomous visual construction in which photographic image and painted intervention contribute equally to the final composition.
The relationship between organic form and geometry is one of the central elements of the work. The vertical movement of the palm contrasts with the ordered sequence of pyramids, while the intense chromatic treatment reduces naturalistic depth and gives the image an almost visionary quality.
This dialogue between photography and painting is characteristic of an important phase in Settanni’s work. The artist uses the photographic image as a visual matrix, subsequently altering its perception, rhythm and meaning through a highly personal use of colour.
The work was exhibited in 2000 in the exhibition Palme at Galleria Consorti, Via Margutta 52, Rome. It is accompanied by documentation relating to the exhibition.
On the reverse is an autograph dedication to Maurizio, together with the signature of Pino Settanni. An element that contributes to the documented history of the work.
Discover also Six Pyramids and a Palm by Pino Settanni, another work from 2000 related to the same investigation into photography, painted intervention and chromatic construction.
