"One lives thanks to the Art of the Past": interview with Paolo Salvati

In the world of contemporary art, which is often difficult, provocative, and oblivious to tradition, there are artists who try to take a different path, one that looks to the old masters to revisit them in a modern key. One of these artists is master Paolo Salvati. Born in 1939 in Rome and always remaining faithful to his art, Paolo Salvati (now a Knight of the Republic) is the author of numerous interesting works of art, many of them with a landscape theme. We caught up with him for an interview in which we talked not only about his artistic experience, but also about the role of art in today’s society.

What is your definition of the term “art”? And what is art for you nowadays?
In the words of Benedetto Croce, Art is the transfiguration of feeling, so I agree that it is a “lyrical institution,” I would add intangible, today as yesterday always relevant!

Is there still room for Art in our society?
Yes of course, it is the same Art that does not allow closures, so no creative interruption and human limitation to the idea, social, political scenarios change, new conceptual steps, however any kind of society even consumerist, globalized, is losing against the expressive force of culture.

Last year you painted a “Homage to Van Gogh” revisiting the Dutch painter’s famous “Terrasse du café le soir.” What is your relationship with tradition?
One lives with the Art of the past, one lives thanks to the Art of the past, because it is a food for our imagination, a balanced, experienced support, sometimes different from one’s own path but necessary for a real comparative, even critical analysis of one’s own work.

Your production abounds with landscapes and seascapes: how does your painting capture the essence of the landscape? Are there links with the great landscape painting of ancient art? And what is your relationship with nature?
I am a child of Nature, close relative I might add! Expressionist, all my pictorial Art is subordinated to the landscape element, in nature human issues are bound up: I highlight among my canvases, paintings such as the Blue Stone, Dreams of Spring andSummer, the whole series Fronde Rosse, Blue Trees, all oils on canvas of intense lyrical depth, linked to the history of authors such as Turner, Monet, Van Gogh, Lautrec.

Looking at Your works, one is often surprised by the use of certain chromatics, such as the blue that often seems to permeate even the essence of the painting (“The Blue Tree,” “The Blue Stone”). What is the meaning that you attach to color?
Color is the meaning of Modern Art, color dominates the reading of the First Work, a brilliant visual creation. Lüscher’s color test states that the preference for blue expresses the need for emotional stillness and serenity. Blue is a color that truly encapsulates anticipation, magic, and the mystery of life.

What is the role of the artist for you and what is the message you want to get across to the public through your art?
The role of the Artist is: to go deep into the human soul, through different forms of expression, in my case coloristic, I bring to everyone’s attention faith in a hope, mine is a Catholic Christian faith, through overcoming suffering, I find and highlight with color the work of God.

Artist’s website: www.paolosalvati.it

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