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NEOREALISMO

NUOVA FOTOGRAFIA ITALIANA

September–November 2018

Mario Cattaneo, Jukebox, c. 1960. One man dances, blurred with motion, while another looks on clapping and a third man faces away from the camera towards the jukebox.

1. Mario Cattaneo, Jukebox, c. 1960

Gianni Berengo-Gardin, Venezia - Il Lido, c. 1958. A group of young adults listens to a record player on the beach. A couple in black is dancing, while the other people are seated in the sand.

2. Gianni Berengo-Gardin, Venezia - Il Lido, c. 1958

Federico Garolla, Valeria Moriconi - Railway between Rome & Florence, 1959. A large group of men watch on, smiling, as a couple dances in front of them.

3. Federico Garolla, Valeria Moriconi - Railway between Rome & Florence, 1959

Alfredo Camisa, Botteghino del Circo, 1956. A woman peers out from a ticketing booth beneath a sign with ticket prices.

4. Alfredo Camisa, Botteghino del Circo, 1956

Carlo Bavagnoli, Gente di Trastevere, 1957–1958. A smiling woman seated at a table raises her drinking glass in a toast.

5. Carlo Bavagnoli, Gente di Trastevere, 1957–1958

Piergiorgio Branzi, Firenze, Ballo alla casa del popolo di San Frediano, 1959. A couple dances in the foreground with a woman looking on from behind the bar in the background.

6. Piergiorgio Branzi, Firenze, Ballo alla casa del popolo di San Frediano, 1959

Piergiorgio Branzi, Roma, Via Veneto, 1959. An older woman seated at the foremost of a row of tables. A hand holding a glass is extended towards her from outside the left of the frame.

7. Piergiorgio Branzi, Roma, Via Veneto, 1959

Federico Garolla, Elezione a Napoli, 1948. Three men stand on each others shoulders to reach a high point on a wall covered in election posters.

8. Federico Garolla, Elezione a Napoli, 1948

Riccardo Moncalvo, Campagna Elettorale, 1948. Two men photographed from above painting a mural on the ground featuring a crest and white lettering.

9. Riccardo Moncalvo, Campagna Elettorale, 1948

Mario Cattaneo, Untitled, c. 1960. A young boy sits on a man's shoulders, holding on to his face. A woman's face is out of focus in the foreground. All are smiling and looking to the left of the frame.

10. Mario Cattaneo, Untitled, c. 1960

Ugo Zovetti, Allo Zoo, c. 1960. An older woman in a hat and pearls looks warily into a cage alongside a young girl with a white bow in her hair.

11. Ugo Zovetti, Allo Zoo, c. 1960

Ugo Zovetti, Untitled, 1960. A man stands in a crowd cradling a young boy in a spotted costume who appears to be sleeping.

12. Ugo Zovetti, Untitled, 1960

Mario de Biasi, Palermo, 1950. A young man, soaking wet, attempts to carry two young boys on his shoulders, supported against a stone wall. Other women and children look on and another man is blurred with motion in the foreground left.

13. Mario de Biasi, Palermo, 1950

Mario de Biasi, Sunday in August, 1949. A young girl rides a bicycle through shallow water, legs outspread. Her reflection can be seen in the water and a number of other cyclist ride behind her.

14. Mario de Biasi, Sunday in August, 1949

Mario de Biasi, Outskirts of Milan, Ortica, 1949. A pile of wooden crates is seen before a horse-drawn cart with a man standing beside it. A train emitting smoke clouds divides the frame horizontally, some buildings can be seen behind it.

15. Mario de Biasi, Outskirts of Milan, Ortica, 1949

Gianni Berengo-Gardin, Venezia, processione del Corpus Domini in piazza San Marco, 1958. A young boy among many in white robes chews on the stem of a flower he holds in front of his face.

16. Gianni Berengo-Gardin, Venezia, processione del Corpus Domini in piazza San Marco, 1958

Mario Finocchiaro, Sant'Alfio, Sicilia, 1958. A woman holds a large lit candle in a crowd of people doing the same.

17. Mario Finocchiaro, Sant'Alfio, Sicilia, 1958

Mario Finocchiaro, Sant'Alfio (Miracoli), 1958. A large crowd photographed from above, blurred with motion. Central is a woman who appears to be fainting or convulsing while others support her.

18. Mario Finocchiaro, Sant'Alfio (Miracoli), 1958

Ezio Quiresi, Angolo Quieto, 1956. A man in black sits on the street in the lower right of the frame, head down against one knee, against the wall of a stone building with three windows.

19. Ezio Quiresi, Angolo Quieto, 1956

Ezio Quiresi, Reti Chioggiotte, c. 1952. A man stands in the lower left of the frame, netting draped all around him. He looks down at one section of netting.

20. Ezio Quiresi, Reti Chioggiotte, c. 1952

Ezio Quiresi, Domenica nel Porto, 1956. Seascape with a man in black fishing, back to the camera, in the foreground. Steam boats and mountains are visible in the distance.

21. Ezio Quiresi, Domenica nel Porto, 1956

Stanislao Farri, Passa il Giro, 1956. A group of cyclists, blurred with motion, pass a building with onlookers observing from two open-shuttered windows.

22. Stanislao Farri, Passa il Giro, 1956

Franco Pinna, Roma - Panico, c. 1955. A street performer kneels with a thick metal chain around his chest and arms, a large group of children looking on in the background.

23. Franco Pinna, Roma - Panico, c. 1955

Cesare Colombo, Milano, 1958. Street scene with many figures hurrying through the rain with umbrellas.

24. Cesare Colombo, Milano, 1958

Carlo Bavagnoli, Gente di Trastavere, 1957–1958. A young boy poses in an alleyway, flexing his muscles and smiling to the camera. He wears suspenders and three bottle cap buttons on his shirt.

25. Carlo Bavagnoli, Gente di Trastavere, 1957–1958

Giancolombo, Milano, Vile attentato a Togliatti, 1948. Street scene photographed from above. A crowd of men gathers, many holding newspapers with the headline "Vile attentato a Togliatti"

26. Giancolombo, Milano, Vile attentato a Togliatti, 1948

Fosco Maraini, Grey Sunday, 1952. Three men in black walk away from the camera on a hazy street; one carries a tuba on his back.

27. Fosco Maraini, Grey Sunday, 1952

Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958. Three figures, blurred with motion, walk across the frame right to left, holding umbrellas. Black tasseled curtains hang from the building behind them.

28. Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958

Mario Finocchiaro, Ragazzi di Milano, 1959. A group of children gather on a tree-lined street. Most are looking off the the right of the frame and one boy is yelling in that direction.

29. Mario Finocchiaro, Ragazzi di Milano, 1959

Giuseppe Bruno, Viaggio del Sud, Matera, 1958. Six young boys play on the cobbled street in front of the doorway of a stone house. Three are standing; three crouch low to the ground.

30. Giuseppe Bruno, Viaggio del Sud, Matera, 1958

Federico Patellani, Fede e magia nell'Italia del Sud, c. 1955. Two woman kneel on stone ground. A young boy lays beside them and an infant is in the lap of the woman on the left.

31. Federico Patellani, Fede e magia nell'Italia del Sud, c. 1955

Carlo Bevilacqua, Venerdi Santo, c. 1955. Dark, smoky scene with three young boys surrounding a large crucifix.

32. Carlo Bevilacqua, Venerdi Santo, c. 1955

Alfredo Camisa, Notte di Piedigrotta, 1957. Nighttime street scene with dark figure in a pointed hat raising one arm in the foreground. A man reclines on the sidewalk in the background.

33. Alfredo Camisa, Notte di Piedigrotta, 1957

Tranquillo Casiraghi, Guardiana di Mucche, c. 1955. A young girl looks into the camera from behind a wooden barn door, arms resting on the top of it. Two articles of clothing are also draped over the door.

34. Tranquillo Casiraghi, Guardiana di Mucche, c. 1955

Giuseppe Bruno, Matera, 1958. A young boy stands in a doorway beneath a lamb suspended by its hind legs. He holds its right hoof in his hand, looking off to the left.

35. Giuseppe Bruno, Matera, 1958

Enzo Sellerio, Untitled, n.d. A truck bed filled with grapes surrounded by young boys wielding baskets.

36. Enzo Sellerio, Untitled, n.d.

Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1959. Men seated at a table outside a building marked "Trattoria Bar". Soda advertisements appear on the walls and windows.

37. Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1959

Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1952. A group poses for a wedding portrait as a balloon vendor walks through the foreground.

38. Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1952

Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1953. Exterior view of an apartment building. One window is lit and a family is seated at the dinner table.

39. Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1953

Pietro Donzelli, Cinema in Pila, Veneto, 1954. Outdoor movie screen with rows of seats and benches in front of it. Ladders are propped up on either side of the screen.

40. Pietro Donzelli, Cinema in Pila, Veneto, 1954

Tranquillo Casiraghi, Cavatore d'ardesia, 1959. A young quarryman in a white cap, jacket draped over his shoulders, stands in front of a wooden structure.

41. Tranquillo Casiraghi, Cavatore d'ardesia, 1959

Carlo Cosulich, Operaio Italiano, 1959. A smiling man, blurred with motion, leans against a white wall, holding a cigarette between his lips.

42. Carlo Cosulich, Operaio Italiano, 1959

Mario Finocchiaro, Pietra Ardesia, Cava di Branzi, 1950. A quarryman stands smoking a cigarette, leaning against stacks of slate.

43. Mario Finocchiaro, Pietra Ardesia, Cava di Branzi, 1950

Mario Cattaneo, Lo Sforzo, c. 1960. Two shirtless young men, backs to the camera, sit on a rock by the water, pulling a rope that extends out of the right of the frame.

44. Mario Cattaneo, Lo Sforzo, c. 1960

Mimmo Castellano, Bari, c. 1960. One face of a stone building. A set of wooden double doors is below a window and beside another opening covered by blinds.

45. Mimmo Castellano, Bari, c. 1960

Alfredo Camisa, Sicilia, c. 1955. The silhouette of a horse's head extends from the left of the frame. Various rope-like silhouettes extend down from above. An alleyway plastered with posters is in the background.

46. Alfredo Camisa, Sicilia, c. 1955

Paolo Monti, Window, c. 1955. A black cat sits curled in a shop window amongst shelves with glass bottles and tin cans.

47. Paolo Monti, Window, c. 1955

Pietro Donzelli, Flood in Polesine, 1960. Two figures walk downhill towards the camera. Other figures watch from the background at the top of the hill.

48. Pietro Donzelli, Flood in Polesine, 1960

Stanislao Farri, Curiosità, 1958. One man on a bicycle and one standing peer into the spaces between the wooden slats of a door.

49. Stanislao Farri, Curiosità, 1958

Pietro Donzelli, Flood in Polesine, 1960. Two men carry a motorcycle uphill towards the camera.

50. Pietro Donzelli, Flood in Polesine, 1960

Mario Finocchiaro, Milano - Fiera di Sinigaglia, 1959. Two men seated beneath a small umbrella are flanked by two men standing amongst various objects in a yard sale-like setting.

51. Mario Finocchiaro, Milano - Fiera di Sinigaglia, 1959

Mario Giacomelli, Scanno, 1959/1970. High-contrast street scene with figures in black, with the central focus a young boy with hands in pockets looking to the camera.

52. Mario Giacomelli, Scanno, 1959/1970

Enrico Cattaneo, Gran Gala (La Scala), 1960. Grainy low-light scene featuring a group of women in formalwear.

53. Enrico Cattaneo, Gran Gala (La Scala), 1960

Enrico Cattaneo, Alla Parata Militare, c. 1961. A row of three men, two in military uniform, with a young boy behind and above them waving a small flag.

54. Enrico Cattaneo, Alla Parata Militare, c. 1961

Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1957. People gather in the street as a man speaks into a microphone from a balcony.

55. Nino Migliori, Gente dell'Emilia, 1957

Mario Giacomelli, Puglia, 1958/1970. High-contrast street scene with various people sitting and standing in groups.

56. Mario Giacomelli, Puglia, 1958/1970

Mario Cattaneo, Untitled, c. 1960. A group of seven children huddled close together, smiling to the camera.

57. Mario Cattaneo, Untitled, c. 1960

Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958. A weathered portrait in a black frame hangs on an equally worn wall.

58. Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958

Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958. A group of young men play soccer in front of a long row of onlookers holding umbrellas.

59. Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958

Gianni Berengo-Gardin, Untitled, c. 1958. Four rows of uniformed military officers on horseback fill the frame.

60. Gianni Berengo-Gardin, Untitled, c. 1958

Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958. Rows of shoes with numbered tags.

61. Mario Carrieri, Milano, c. 1958

Press Release

Keith de Lellis Gallery presents a group exhibition of vintage Italian photographs to begin the fall season. These photographs from the years following World War II document a period of dramatic change in everyday Italian life. With the fall of Fascism and its image-heavy propaganda came a renewed pursuit of truth in photography. Neorealism expanded rapidly as photographers sought to document every facet of the Italian identity.

The spread of visual communication in the form of illustrated newspapers and magazines resulted in increased social awareness among the general population. Photographers conducted their own ethnographic studies of both thriving and disappearing cultures, from busy cities to small villages. These series include Nino Migliori’s “Gente dell’Emilia,” Mario Finocchiaro’s “Gente de Milano,” and Giacomelli’s studies of remote pastoral regions with “Scanno”.

Both the photographers and their growing audience were interested in discovering Italy as it was experienced by all of its people. Neorealism sought to use the camera as an unbiased, mechanical tool with which to preserve and share these experiences.

While they gravitated towards a journalistic approach in their subject matter, these artists maintained their eye for dramatic, even cinematic, compositions. Full of life, motion, and sentiment, the images pull the viewer in to the moment captured. The beauty of their photographs only served to further their humanist pursuits. Featuring celebrations, prayers, labor, farewells, and more, this exhibition gives the viewer a brief survey of the postwar Italian landscape as some of its native photographers experienced it.

Neorealismo will be on view at the Keith de Lellis Gallery through November 3, 2018.

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