Beschreibung:

Massimo Vitali (born 1944)'San Marco 2', 2005
Mural-sized chromogenic print; front-mounted to acrylic, flush-mounted to aluminum, signed, titled, annotated, dated, numbered '#2069', and editioned '1/6' in ink on a Massimo Vitali studio label on the reverse.
59 1/4 x 74 3/4 in. (150.5 x 189.9 cm.)
overall 70 7/8 x 86 5/8 in. (180 x 220 cm.)
FootnotesProvenance
Isabella Brancolini / Arte Nova Gallery, Florence
Acquired from the above in 2006 by the present owner
Literature
Massimo Vitali, Natural Habitats, Photographs 2004-2009 (Göttingen, 2010), p. 103
Massimo Vitali: Una Storia Italiana (Milan, 2021), unpaginated
Note
Italian-born photographer and cinematographer Massimo Vitali has gained international acclaim for his colorful, large-format images of crowds engaged in leisure activities. Exploring humanity, commercialism, and conformity in his various series, Vitali's practice entails visiting international tourism destinations, including beaches, ski slopes, and bustling cities. Each scene utilizes massive scale to provide an entry point for the viewer. Neither staged nor manipulated, Vitali's work subverts the traditional notions of portrait and landscape photographs by reimagining the discipline on both a micro and macro level.
Perhaps nowhere is Vitali more prolific than when photographing his home country of Italy. The artist chose Venice's Piazza San Marco as his focus on several occasions, returning to shoot there repeatedly over the years. San Marco 2 was taken in 2006, when Vitali utilized a dramatic vantage point to capture a brightly illuminated afternoon crowd gathered in St. Mark's Square.
Vitali's San Marco images are perhaps the most beloved among his collectors. Large-format, front-mounted prints of San Marco 2 are rare to market. At the time of this writing, only 3 examples have been offered at auction, each achieving exceptional results.