Description of the Work: "The Guardians, 1980" by Tano Festa
Tano Festa and the Symbol of Memory: The Icon of the Guardians
"I Guardiani" is an evocative work by Tano Festa, created in 1980 with acrylic on canvas, measuring 130 x 100 cm. This work is a mature example of the artist's poetics, which, since the mid-1970s, has consolidated a figurative style based on the use of recognizable archetypes and symbols.
The subject, two stylized, statuesque figures, stands against a simple landscape, evoking the idea of a protective and mysterious presence. Tano Festa, a leading member of the Piazza del Popolo School, used painting to rework the collective imagination, often through the use of iconic subjects and a palette of saturated, flat colors. In "The Guardians," the simplicity of the forms and the stark chromatic contrast between the black of the hats, the orange of the robes, and the intense blue of the background lend the figures an almost fairytale-like, mythological aura.
The work reflects his ongoing focus on the themes of memory and the recovery of history, filtered through a Pop and postmodern sensibility. The painting is in excellent condition, comes from a private collection and is archived at the "Archivio Tano Festa" under the care of Franco Soligo. It is accompanied by a photographic certificate.
Tano Festa: The Guardians (1980). Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 100 cm. Iconic work of the Piazza del Popolo School. Officially archived.
