SALVATORE EMBLEMA

In the early years of his career, Salvatore Emblema stood out for a pictorial research linked to nature: he used organic materials such as leaves and volcanic powders to obtain unique colors and suggestive atmospheres. This attention to matter and nature is reflected in his first artworks through the technique of “fullography”, in which dry leaves become precious pigments, enhancing the bond between art and environment.
1954 marks a crucial moment: thanks to Ugo Moretti, Salvatore Emblema was introduced to Monsignor Francia, a central figure of the Vatican Museums, who introduced him to Pope Pius XII. The latter commissioned him a portrait which, after publication in “Settimana Incom”, was acquired by the Vatican Museums. In the same year, Salvatore Emblema exhibited at the “La Vetrina” Gallery in Chiurazzi, where his artwork “Capuzzella” attracted the interest of the magnate Rockfeller, who invited him to New York.
The American stay proved decisive for his artistic maturation. In the United States, he came into contact with the protagonists of Abstract Expressionism such as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, from whom he assimilated the expressive power of color and the strength of the pictorial gesture. In New York, he also met the critic Giulio Carlo Argan, with whom he established a relationship of mutual esteem and intellectual confrontation. It was Argan who posed a fundamental question to him: how to enhance the space behind the canvas without destroying it, as Lucio Fontana had done.
This reflection became a central node of Salvatore Emblema's artistic research. Returning to Italy in 1958, in modest economic conditions, he used poor materials such as sackcloth and built the frames himself. It was during this period that he developed his most famous and innovative technique: “detessitura”. This consists of manually pulling out the threads of the canvas weave, creating geometrically calibrated empty spaces that allow light to pass through the artwork and to dialogue with the space behind. Salvatore Emblema thus overcomes the traditional two-dimensionality of the painting and leads the viewer to consider the space behind the canvas as an integral part of the artwork itself.
In 1969 Argan offered Salvatore Emblema the chair of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, but the artist refused, consistent with his shy and independent nature. Between 1972 and 1994 he participated in numerous important exhibitions in Italy and abroad, consolidating his fame. In 1982 he was invited to the Venice Biennale and in the same year his artworks were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen of Rotterdam.
His love for his land led him to found the Emblema Museum in Terzigno, a place dedicated to the dissemination of contemporary art and the preservation of his extraordinary artistic heritage. Salvatore Emblema died in 2006, leaving an artistic legacy of great value, also recognized by institutions such as the Uffizi in Florence, where some of his artworks are still kept.

SALVATORE EMBLEMA ARTWORS

Artworks of Salvatore Emblema represent an important chapter in the history of Italian and international contemporary art. From the first figurative attempts, characterized by portraits and natural subjects, to the radical abstract turn influenced by American Abstract Expressionism, his artworks testify to a path of incessant research.
A distinctive feature of artworks of Salvatore Emblema is the use of natural and local materials: dry leaves, volcanic powders, and stones from Vesuvius, through which he manages to convey not only images but atmospheres and suggestions linked to his land of origin. This bond with nature is also reflected in “fullography”, an experimental technique in which leaves become pigment, giving the surfaces tactile and chromatic effects that are completely original.
But the real innovation is realized in the detessitura technique. The detessitura artworks of Salvatore Emblema are an invitation to observe not only the pictorial surface but also what lies behind, between the canvas and the wall. With this technique, the artist frees the space behind, making it visible and part of the artwork itself, in a refined play of lights and shadows that involves the viewer in a complete visual and perceptive experience.
Emblema's artistic maturity finds full expression in the large canvases exhibited in prestigious museums: from the Vatican Museums to the Metropolitan Museum, from the Uffizi in Florence to the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The artworks of Salvatore Emblema continue today to be studied and admired for their ability to combine matter with light, tradition with experimentation.

SALVATORE EMBLEMA QUOTATIONS

The art market has shown growing interest in the quotations of Salvatore Emblema, especially for his iconic artworks made with the detessitura technique. The quotations of Salvatore Emblema vary significantly depending on size, period, and technique used. Historical paintings, particularly those made between the ’60s and ’80s, can easily exceed 10,000 euros at international auctions, especially if they are large formats or works belonging to the most famous cycles.
In recent years, Emblema's graphic production, such as lithographs and prints, has also seen a strong revaluation. The quotations of these artworks depend on the quality of the print, the edition size, and the state of conservation. In general, today it is possible to purchase an original lithograph of Salvatore Emblema at prices ranging between 200 and 1,000 euros, while prints of museum quality can reach even higher figures.
The market for artworks of Salvatore Emblema is solid and continuously growing, supported by the interest of collectors, galleries, and cultural institutions. Owning one of his artworks means not only buying an important piece of the history of Italian contemporary art but also making an investment that maintains its value over time. Whether it is a painting, a graphic artwork, or a detessitura, every artwork of Salvatore Emblema is an expression of visual poetry capable of uniting matter, light, and space with refined originality.