Markus Brunetti (German, b. 1965)
Venezia, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, 2020
Archival Pigment Print
Paper: 88 1/2" x 59” (225 x 150 cm)
Framed: 90 3/16” x 60 13/16" (229 x 154.5 cm)
Edition of 9 plus 3 artist's proofs
Venezia, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, 2020
Archival Pigment Print
Paper: 88 1/2" x 59” (225 x 150 cm)
Framed: 90 3/16” x 60 13/16" (229 x 154.5 cm)
Edition of 9 plus 3 artist's proofs
Markus Brunetti's "Venezia, Santa Maria dei Miracoli" (2006-2023) has been acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Boston, MA.
Markus Brunetti (b. 1965; Bavaria, Germany) depicts the façades of historic cathedrals, churches, monasteries, and synagogues across Europe, which are meticulously captured through a singular and intensive method. Each of Brunetti’s works is exhaustively detailed, and stands as a photographic record that celebrates the architectural grandeur and intricacy of these historic, monumental structures.
Years of trial and error have gone into developing the unique method by which Brunetti creates his FACADES — a level of dedication similar to the buildings’ original architects and builders. Through an incredibly lengthy process, the artist takes thousands of photographs of every structure in the series. He then edits, layers, and arranges each frame to create massive composite images that eschew the distortions of spatial perspective to arrive at a perfected view of the building’s façade.
Once a site is selected, Brunetti follows a strict set of rules in its depiction. Each and every work presents a sole, central view of the main façade — always under an overcast sky. The artist and his wife and collaborator, Betty Schöner, live nomadically to stay in close proximity to each building, and eventually return to these sites repeatedly over the months and years that pass as they work.
Over time, the artist gains an intimate knowledge of and feeling for each structure, and for the immense amount of labor and ingenuity poured into each building’s original construction. With preservation and inspiration as his motivation, Brunetti achieves the otherwise impossible: documenting the entire “faces” of monuments, seemingly outside of time.
In this way, the artist combines traditional photography with compositional techniques similar to painting, which transcends the limits of classical architectural photography to create images that match the aesthetic ideals seen in works by the Old Masters.
Years of trial and error have gone into developing the unique method by which Brunetti creates his FACADES — a level of dedication similar to the buildings’ original architects and builders. Through an incredibly lengthy process, the artist takes thousands of photographs of every structure in the series. He then edits, layers, and arranges each frame to create massive composite images that eschew the distortions of spatial perspective to arrive at a perfected view of the building’s façade.
Once a site is selected, Brunetti follows a strict set of rules in its depiction. Each and every work presents a sole, central view of the main façade — always under an overcast sky. The artist and his wife and collaborator, Betty Schöner, live nomadically to stay in close proximity to each building, and eventually return to these sites repeatedly over the months and years that pass as they work.
Over time, the artist gains an intimate knowledge of and feeling for each structure, and for the immense amount of labor and ingenuity poured into each building’s original construction. With preservation and inspiration as his motivation, Brunetti achieves the otherwise impossible: documenting the entire “faces” of monuments, seemingly outside of time.
In this way, the artist combines traditional photography with compositional techniques similar to painting, which transcends the limits of classical architectural photography to create images that match the aesthetic ideals seen in works by the Old Masters.
May 18, 2023
