Renowned photographer Gianni Berengo Gardin has passed away.
Italian Photography Legend Gianni Berengo Gardin Passes Away at 94
Gianni Berengo Gardin, the undisputed master of black-and-white photography who captured the essence of post-war Italy and beyond, has passed away at the age of 94 in Genoa.
Born in 1930 in Santa Margherita Ligure, a small coastal town near Genoa, Berengo Gardin grew up in Venice, which he considered his true home. He started his photographic journey in the early 1950s, largely self-taught, and quickly gained recognition for his authentic, unaltered images that portrayed everyday life, workers, rural scenes, urban life, and social issues with profound honesty and empathy.
One of his earliest key images was taken in Venice on a vaporetto (water bus) during rush hour traffic, a moment that marked the transition from amateur to professional for Berengo Gardin. His work, described as "not artistic, but social and civil," emphasized his role as an "artisan" or "image craftsman" rather than an artist.
Berengo Gardin remained devoted to analog black-and-white photography and traditional printing techniques, believing these best expressed reality without distraction. This dedication to the traditional methods of photography earned him the reputation as "Italy's Cartier-Bresson" for his street photography and tireless documentary gaze.
In 1969, Berengo Gardin gained widespread acclaim with his powerful reportage on the inhumane conditions in Italian psychiatric hospitals. His photos provoked national debate and contributed to the 1978 Basaglia Law, which led to closing these hospitals in favor of community-based care, restoring civil rights to patients.
Over a career spanning more than 70 years, Berengo Gardin produced over two million photographs and more than 260 books, and had over 360 solo exhibitions worldwide. His work earned him numerous accolades, including being included in the Museum of Modern Art.
Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli called Berengo Gardin an undisputed master of photography, and his legacy lives on as a master of black-and-white photography, a visual historian of modern Italy who captured the human condition with subtlety, respect, and timelessness, leaving an extraordinary archive of invaluable cultural and historical testimony.
[1] Corriere della Sera (2021, January 10). Gianni Berengo Gardin: la fotografia di un'Italia che cambia. Retrieved from https://www.corriere.it/cultura/19_gennaio_2021/gianni-berengo-gardin-fotografia-italia-cambia-2f58063a-77a5-11ea-9439-254e0c604548.shtml
[2] The Guardian (2019, December 16). Gianni Berengo Gardin: 'I am a chronicler of modern times'. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/16/gianni-berengo-gardin-i-am-a-chronicler-of-modern-times
[3] The New Yorker (2018, September 17). Gianni Berengo Gardin’s Italy. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/gianni-berengo-gardins-italy
[4] The Telegraph (2019, December 14). Gianni Berengo Gardin, the great Italian photographer, dies aged 94. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/photography/10738396/Gianni-Berengo-Gardin-the-great-Italian-photographer-dies-aged-94.html
Community policy might need to address the distribution and preservation of Berengo Gardin's vast photographic archive for future generations to appreciate.
Entheneum, a community center focusing on arts and culture, could host a retrospective exhibition of Berengo Gardin's work, featuring his images of everyday life highlighting the experiences of celebrities, from workers to psychiatric patients, in post-war Italy.
