Last days for “Paolo Di Paolo – Lost World”, the exhibition dedicated to the great photographer and produced by MAXXI, the Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome. The exhibition has been extended until 8 September and offers a rigorous and delicate account of Italy as it resurfaced from the Second World War. It is not a pedantic or boring story: on the contrary, Paolo Di Paolo's goal is to soberly capture the people and the powerful, ordinary people and VIPs, the beaches of Viareggio and the veiled girls of Molise, collected in his long career of portentous shots, photos rediscovered by his daughter after more than fifty years of oblivion and hidden in the cellar.
Here we find Pier Paolo Pasolini at Monte dei Cocci in Rome, Tennessee Williams at the beach with the dog, Anna Magnani with her son on the Circeo beach, Kim Novak ironing in her room at the Grand Hotel, Monica Vitti with Michelangelo Antonioni, Sofia Loren joking with Marcello Mastroianni in the Cinecittà studios. And then a family for the first time in front of the sea in Rimini and the heartbroken faces of the people at the funeral of Palmiro Togliatti.
The real turning point in Di Paolo's professional life came in 1954 when he began to collaborate with the weekly Il Mondo, founded and directed by Mario Pannunzio. Di Paolo will become one of its main collaborators, with the largest number of photos published (573 images) in 14 years.
Between 1954 and 1956 he extended his collaborations to the Incom Illustrated Week and worked steadily for the weekly Tempo, directed by Arturo Tofanelli, for which he carried out numerous reports and surveys around the world.
Thanks to the friendships established in the circles of cinema and the artistic world, he created private and exclusive photos of the greatest intellectuals, actors and directors of the time. He deals with important sociological investigations, such as "The long sandy road" of 1959, on the habits of Italians on vacation, signed with Pier Paolo Pasolini. He establishes a relationship of trust with Pasolini, follows him during the filming of The Gospel according to Matthew and Mamma Roma and also creates private images at home, with his mother, at Monte dei Cocci in Rome and in recollection on the tomb of Antonio Gramsci in the Non-Catholic Cemetery From Rome.
He concluded his activity as a photographer by assiduously collaborating with the famous journalist Irene Brin, creating with her a "tandem" specialized in exclusive reports on international high society. In 1966, following the closure of Il Mondo, he decided to abandon the profession of photographer, returning to his studies of philosophy and historical research. His archive, perfectly preserved, was brought to light by his daughter Silvia in the early XNUMXs.
Hours: every day 11-19 except Mondays.
Main sponsor: GUCCI
