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Italian (Sicilian), 1943
Ferdinando Scianna
“Photography is a way of giving form to our way of seeing the world.”
The signature
Sicilian light and ritual, the first Italian in Magnum, fluent between reportage and fashion.
What to study
Study how Scianna carries the rigor of reportage into every genre, including fashion (his Marpessa images shot in Sicily). Look at his feeling for religious festivals, light, and the Sicilian face. He wrote as well as photographed; read him on the relationship between photography and memory.
Italian context
The first Italian member of Magnum, a giant of the national tradition.
Why for Matias
He shows that one rigorous eye can move between worlds. And his writing on photography and memory will speak to a philosophy student.
Iconic images
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Best books
Feste religiose in Sicilia (1965)
His debut, with text by Leonardo Sciascia.
Marpessa (1993)
Fashion reframed as Sicilian narrative.
Quelli di Bagheria (2002)
His hometown and memory.