1 - SALVATORE TESTA

SALVATORE TESTA *Red Petals* by Salvatore Testa, oil on Pieraccini cotton canvas, 55x70 cm. Salvatore Testa, September 2026, Naples. 5.5 cm stretcher frame. The nude is merely a pretext for creating the magic of chiaroscuro and color. I am not interested in the grace of postures or faces, and even less in the charm and sensuality of the subjects. I certainly alter and heavily modify expressions; I could never create a painting if the expressions were not exactly the ones I have in mind, since they are a vehicle for thought, whereas physical charm is not. The nude is notoriously the most difficult subject in painting, because it encapsulates all the colors of the palette and is by no means pink, as beginners believe—they would do better to consider it gray. Conversely, fruits and flowers have very straightforward and easily identifiable colors; moreover, fruits, flowers, and landscapes allow for a great deal of leeway in terms of tonal accuracy, since a certain degree of inaccuracy can always be justified by the variability of nature. In the nude, however, this tolerance is zero: one must capture the tone perfectly in the shadows and chiaroscuro transitions; otherwise, the image looks like a mere sketch. My painting “Red Petals” depicts two friends who seem to be posing—or perhaps were captured by chance in a surreal setting. The horizontal black stripe suggests the presence of a wall, creating ambiguity as to whether the petals are drawn on the wallpaper or falling—and it works precisely because of this. The symmetry of the background conveys an inherent, intelligent order—a geometric order that serves to counterbalance sensuality, which is not sought after yet remains inevitable in a nude.