From Vesuvius to Etna.
Man and Nature in fin de siècle Photography.
From November 15th to November 20th, from 10am to 5pm
Opening 18th of November at 5pm
Abbostford Convent – The Store
From Vesuvius to Etna.
Man and nature in fin de siècle photography.
The exhibition brings together some of the most beautiful shots of historical authors of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – belonging to the Anselmo – DADA FF collection – including: Sommer, Rive, Laisné, Incorpora, Interguglielmi, Von Gloeden, von Plüschow, Crupi, Ledru, Leoneand Tagliarini.
In the infinite ways of narrating the many Sicilies, photography is the ideal companion to travel through time. The images proposed are characterized by the cleanliness of the composition, always essential and never overabundant, where both the landscapes and the men seem almost immersed in a mythical or archetypal dimension that will characterize photography in Italy at the end of the century. A journey in constant search of the ideal beauty which begins in the nineteenth-century period of the Grand Tour and fin de siècle photography, in archaeological sites where one could breathe the air blowing between the colonnades of the temples and under the leafy branches of centuries-old olive trees.
Among bucolic landscapes, silent cloisters and clear city views, the images lead us to a dining table without diners. These are the images of Giuseppe Incorpora, a passionate photographer and cook, whose family has photographed Palermo and Sicily for over five generations.
On a white tablecloth, the grazing lights emphasize the chiaroscuro among the remains of the meal, the broken bread, the mug of wine, plates and glasses now empty. A suspended image, imbued with the poetry of everyday life. We do not see human images, but we can sense their presence, they have just left the table, the women are in the kitchen, the men smoke a cigar comfortably seated on the armchairs in the living room. The tour ends with the image of a woman advancing in the middle of a sunny courtyard whose clay floor makes everything even more luminous and abstract. She has an elegant gait, her shawl
and skirt blown by the wind, her hands hold up a tray with cups of coffee. A dreamlike dimension in which one feels the sensation of being immersed in the image and breathing the aroma of the coffee. Thus ends our journey through time.
The exhibition is a collection of some of the most beautiful photoshoots by historical authors of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – belonging to the Anselmo collection – DADA FF- including: Sommer, Rive, Laisné, Incorpora, Interguglielmi, Von Gloeden, von Plüschow, Crupi, Ledru, Leone and Tagliarini.