Paolo Monti on show in Milan
Until 12 March 2017, over 200 photographs by Paolo Monti will be exhibited at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. The works represent the long work of an artist who managed to crystallize in images the epochal changes that took place in almost a century of Italian history. Monti had shown great talent in photography at a young age, but it was towards the end of the 40s that the hobby gradually became a profession. In 1947 he founded the photographic club La Gondola in Venice. At first it seems more like a pastime with friends, but within a few years the club gained the attention of the general public as an avant-garde movement.
The photographer of an era
In Venice, something took place in Paolo Monti. It is unconditional love for photography, which will lead him in the following years to improve his expressive technique more and more. In the 60s, Monti's work was frenetic. He makes an impressive photographic mapping of the Apennine arch and the Emilian historic centers, leaving us an extraordinary archive of images that tell of an era. But equally important was his contribution to the History of Italian Literature published by Garzanti, for which the Piedmontese photographer took care of the illustrated part.
The thousand faces of Monti
The historical and artistic contribution left by Paolo Monti is enormous. The architecture and art of an Italy that was still struggling to get out of backwardness emerge in all their warm beauty, like an almost forgotten dream. And the faces. The many faces of men and women have an incredible strength within themselves. They are the mirror of feelings just mentioned, too deep to be shouted, too important to be completely hidden. The photographs presented are in black and white, they are warm, familiar even if they are seen for the first time. This in Milan will be an exhibition to be seen in silence, lulled by magnificent images of the past.
