Quattro stagioni, 1974 by Franco FontanaMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
From Fontana's colour views to Ghirri's conceptual landscapes, from Giacomelli's informal aesthetics to D'Alessandro's social reportage, the Farnesina Collection hosts works by both great masters and artists who use the medium of photography in their experiments.
Quattro stagioni, 1974 by Franco FontanaMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
In Franco Fontana's "Four Seasons' series" (1974), the rural landscapes are distinguished by an original use of bright and vivid colours, which is combined with the interpretation of the landscape through geometric shapes and essential lines.
Verso Lagosanto, 1989 by Luigi GhirriMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
The piece "Verso Lagosanto" by Luigi Ghirri is taken from the series "Il profilo delle Nuvole" (“Profile of the Clouds”,1985-89). Suspended in the warm light of day, the landscape is composed of the vanishing perspective of a country road in the surroundings of the small community of Lagosanto in Emilia Romagna.
Presa di coscienza sulla natura, 1976 by Mario GiacomelliMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
In "Presa di coscienza sulla natura" (“Becoming Aware of Nature”, 1976), Mario Giacomelli depicts the Marche countryside near his home town of Senigallia, transfiguring the views of the area into abstract visions through strong contrasts and overexposure.
Napoli 1979, 1979 by Luciano D'AlessandroMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
In "Napoli 1979", Luciano D'Alessandro, a great exponent of social reportage, portrays the Neapolitan city captured in a moment of ordinary, chaotic normality.
Gli esclusi, 1969 by Luciano D'AlessandroMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
D'Alessandro's second work in the Collection is taken from the study "Gli Esclusi" (1965-67) - the first photographic documentation of the condition of the mentally ill in asylums in Italy.
Ex voto, 2007 (detail) by Antonio BiasiucciMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
The work ‘Ex voto’ (2007) by Antonio Biasiucci is made up of twelve shots depicting enlarged ex-votos, which the artist captured during a visit to the chapel of the doctor Saint Giuseppe Moscati in the Gesù Nuovo Church in Naples.
In this black and white series, Biasiucci creates a kaleidoscope of images that speak of family stories, memory and matter, light and shadow - recurring elements in his work.
Le tre chiese, 2011 by Silvia CamporesiMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
"La Terza Venezia" (“The Third Venice”, 2011) is a series by Silvia Camporesi dedicated to the lagoon city, in which the artist alternates between actual views and scale miniatures.
Le tre chiese, 2011 by Silvia CamporesiMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
From this collection, the triptych "The Three Churches" is on display, in which the buildings are completely suspended or immersed in the sea, enveloped in fog and silence, in a rarefied, almost dreamlike atmosphere.
Grand Bassam, 2019 by Raffaela MarinielloMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
"Grand Bassam" is one of the images realized by Raffaela Mariniello during a residency project in Ivory Coast in 2019, as part of the Italia Culture Africa 2019 initiative.
The image depicts a Colonial Era building that was constructed in the center of the capital Abidjan. Follwing the country's de-colonization in the 1960s and 1970s, the city center was slowly uninhabitated and the once elegant buildings abandoned on their own.
Constellation #0493 (Mare Omnis) by Francesco ZizolaMinistero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Collezione Farnesina
The three images "Constellation" by Francesco Zizola are parte of the series of 22 photographs, "Mare Omnis" (2019), dedicated to man's relationship with nature and its influence on the sea.
The mysterious, abstract constellations are actually huge fishing nets, so-called 'tonnare,' submerged in the Sulcis Sea in southwestern Sardinia, near Portoscuso. In the pictures, shot with a drone, the white dots are buoys and the silver threads are the lines that secure the floating parts to the seabed.
Credits: © Archivio Mario Giacomelli; © Archivio Luciano D'alessandro; © Paola Agosti © Antonio Biasiucci; © Silvia Camporesi; © Franco Fontana; © Eredi Luigi Ghirri; © Raffaela Mariniello; © Francesco Zizola.
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.