The Great Masters. 100 Years of Photography Leica investigates for the first time the great revolution in the world of photography, and vision in general, made possible by Leica cameras from the 350s up to today. Over 35 original vintage prints by famous photographers together with historical documents from the Leica archive, films on photographers (such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Garry Winogrand), vintage advertising posters, historical magazines and first editions of books, accompany the visitor in a journey through time and history, to discover those revolutionary changes made possible by a technological innovation such as the "Ur-Leica", the first effective XNUMXmm camera which not only represented a radical change in the field of photography, but triggered, together with the models Leica products subsequently, a significant metamorphosis in our perception of society and the surrounding world.
Photo after photo, this exhibition reveals how much of the images etched in our memory were taken with a Leica and how all these photographs therefore constitute a vast kaleidoscope of photographic trends and developments of the last ten decades.
In 1914 thanks to Oskar Barnack develops the first camera for the 35 mm format. The conception of the “Ur-Leica” marked the birth of dynamic photography with enormous creative reach, offering the photographer countless new forms of expression and allowing him to observe the world in many ways, and continues to do so today. If style is made of vision and technique, there is no doubt that the existence of a new device, ductile and flexible, capable of following the photographer wherever he goes and in any situation, from the most intimate to the most official, it has allowed generations of authors to see, imagine, document and resume reality in a different way.
There hasn't been a Leica photographer who hasn't had a special attachment to their camera. First of all Henri Cartier-Bresson, who never managed to move away from the Leica, so much so that he stated: "The other cameras I've tried have always convinced me to go back to it... As long as I'm doing this job, this is my camera" .
The exhibition is made up of 16 sections that weave together the thematic order with the chronology, in a journey that goes from the birth of the first Leica camera to the most recent visions. Over the years the Leica was progressively used by photographers of different nationalities, extending its use to different types of reportage. From war photojournalism (in 1930 Erich Salomon was the first photojournalist who brought a Leica to the United States and during the Spanish Civil War), to the use of photography as a propaganda tool. But also to a more humanist type of research, in fact the Leica comes to be used in the fashion sector, also revolutionizing the genre in this case: we pass from studio photography to street photography. Crossing these different genres and traveling through the different countries of the world, the exhibition offers the images of the greatest international interpreters who have made the Leica their chosen creative instrument of expression. From the black and white photographs of Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Elliott Erwitt and Gianni Berengo Gardin, to the color of William Eggleston, Fred Herzog and Joel Meyerowitz, the viewer will be able to admire the best of international photography at a glance privileged over Italy. Alongside the images of Gianni Berengo Gardin, the Roman exhibition will also dedicate space to the photographs of other exceptional Italian interpreters such as Piergiorgio Branzi, Paolo Pellegrin, Valerio Bispuri and Lorenzo Castore.
On November 15, the career of Gianni Berengo Gardin, probably the most appreciated post-war Italian photographer, will be honored by the Leica Hall of Fame Award presented by Leica Camera AG in Rome. A selection of his works is on display.
Section list
Oskar Barnack photographer; Leica and the new vision (“neues sehen”); Photojournalism 1925–1935; Photography and propaganda; Humanist photography; The years of rubble; Subjective photography; Photojournalism 1945–1970; Author photography; The “new color photography”; Leica and fashion photography; Leica in Japan; Leica in Spain; Leica in Portugal; Fine Art Photography: 70s; Fine art photography: from the 80s to today.
The exhibition, under the aegis of the Institute for the history of the Italian Risorgimento, is promoted by the Department of Cultural Growth - Capitoline Superintendency for Cultural Heritage of Rome Capital, with the patronage of the Lazio Region, produced and organized by the Arthemisia Group and Contrasto and is curated by Hans-Michael Koetzle, one of the most renowned curators and critics of photography
