Franco Sarnari - Portrait of a Woman

Portraiture is one of the most widespread artistic expressions, especially in painting, but also in sculpture, throughout all eras. Above all, a portrait is a description of the represented subject, an attempt to faithfully and naturally capture their physiognomy and individual characteristics. As artistic exploration gradually evolved, the physiognomic description of the subject was accompanied by a psychological one. Thus, over the centuries, portraiture has also become a means of introspective inquiry into the subject, their character, and their state of mind. The processes of abstraction introduced by contemporary art have further supported this type of inquiry.

The style of the painter Franco Sarnari, in many works such as this “Portrait of a Woman,” is characterized by the development of a strongly expressionist language. The artist seeks to go beyond what is perceived by the senses to extract the true essence of reality and convey it on canvas in an agitated and dramatic manner. To this end, through the application of color, he develops a highly synthesized approach that reduces subjects to dense, textured layers of paint, in which the painter’s own emotionality also takes center stage, conveyed through their raw, forceful gestures. All these elements together constitute the expressive power of Franco Sarnari’s painting. This power is also based on a precise aesthetic choice that reinforces the dramatic tone of his works: a tendency toward an accentuated monochrome of earthy tones, from which the images emerge almost with difficulty, establishing a struggle with the paint itself.

Franco Sarnari was born in Rome in 1933. His training was shaped primarily by his association with Piero Guccione. His refined expressive exploration unfolded through the series Frammenti, Cancellazioni, and Controluce. He exhibited his works in important exhibitions, including a solo show at the La Tavolozza gallery in Palermo in 1981 and his participation in the Venice Biennale in 1988. In 1989, he became the Chair of Painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Catania. In 2003, the Senate acquired one of his works for the Palazzo Madama collection.

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