Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Fabrizio La Torre
Salita scivolosa a Trinità dei Monti Roma - # 3 on 5 - Black & White Photography

1956

About the Item

Artwork # 3 on 5 sold in perfect condition Print called "Art 2014", format 42 x 60 cm. SERIES OF 5 PRINTS + 2 AP Snowstorm over Rome. The photographer grabs his camera and walks the deserted streets of the city. Coming from Piazza di Spagna and cautiously climbing the stairs of Trinità dei Monti, a couple we imagine in love huddled under a large umbrella, while the palm trees begin to bend under the weight of the snow. An unexpected version of "Roman holidays". This print is part of a series that was produced on the occasion of an exhibition in Paris in November 2014, on the occasion of the Month of Photo, whose title was "Roman Promenade". The choice had been made of very high quality prints: cotton fiber base baryta paper without chlorine and high grammage (360 gr / m²), pigment inks. They carry on the back an authentication label signed by Fabrizio La Torre and a certificate signed by the curator (FB), this exhibition taking place 3 months after the artist's death. The whole series includes 25 different pictures. Fabrizio La Torre (b. Rome 1921 d. Brussels 2014) was an Italian neo-realist photographer working during the period 1950-1960 who left behind a body of work focussing on three specific geographical areas: Italy, North America, which he spent several months visiting in 1955 and Asia where he lived for five years (1956-61). Fascinated by the task of capturing moments of truth and intimacy which characterise the human condition all over the world, he gives us moments of insight into life which reach out to us bridging time and distance. He holds up to us an affectionate and benign mirror, always knowing, sometimes amused but never mocking. In 1965, success came knocking at his door: he was offered the possibility of exhibitions and publication but he turned it down for reasons he never fully explained. The most we can do is note that this was also the time when the immense talent and historical importance of the photographic works, produced a century earlier by his grandfather Enrico Valenziani, were discovered. This may have made him feel he could not compete, particularly as he came from a family which was possessed of multiple artistic talents but in which no-one claimed to be an artist. Perhaps he saw himself as “a photographer” who was just the grandson of one of the founding fathers of Italian photography. Who knows? In 1970 he closed his archives and gave away his cameras. He ceased to see his photography as an act of creation but merely as a kind of notebook of his many travels for his job. In 2009 he agreed to re-open his archives and to have his photos restored and digitised. He also permitted the first printed edition of his art photos. Far from rejecting the switch to digital photography, he welcomed the freedom to render the shades, the tones, the “sfumature” which photo labs in the 1960s saw as “imperfections”, at a time when hyper contrast was the big thing, deep blacks and anaemic whites were all the rage. Fabrizio La Torre’s vision of the world was full of different shades. The last few years of his life were spent hard at work. He may have been a little unsteady on his legs but there was nothing wrong with his head - memory intact, imparting clear instructions and sharing many reminiscences. With Jean-Pierre De Neef and his technical team he fine-tuned every single print, perfectly willing to start all over again if necessary to achieve what he had intended 50 years earlier when the photo was taken - the desired composition, lighting and contrast. The exhibitions, the publications, the encounters with his audience came thick and fast: in Paris at the Italian Institute of Culture in 2010, in Brussels at the Ixelles Museum in 2011, followed by the magnificent Retrospective organised in 2014 in the Principality of Monaco. For a year he worked on a daily basis, taking advantage of this major event to give his final instructions. Fate can be cruel: his heart finally gives out just two weeks before the opening of the exhibition which covers 800 square metres. However, he knows he has done what was necessary, he has passed on his instructions which embody his desire to bring to life his photographic achievements which are centred entirely on the human dimension, man’s adventures, his dreams, his fight for a better life. Beginning in 2017, his curator, François Bayle, assisted by the team at Brussels Art Edition started work on the photos taken by Fabrizio La Torre in Asia during his five year stay in Thailand (1956-61). In November 2018, in Bangkok, a book entitled “Bangkok That Was” was published in English, which brings together these photos and, using the original notes left by the artist, tells the story of his life in Asia and expresses his affection for its people. An exhibition with the same title took place for two months at the Serindia Gallery. Afterwards Fabrizio’s photos were taken to their permanent home in Bangkok, the cultural venue of the Central Embassy Mall where they are displayed and on sale all year round. Meanwhile a new exhibition is planned in Bangkok and a new book published based on the pioneering efforts of Fabrizio La Torre in photographing in 1958 in the storerooms of the National Museum in Bangkok the painstaking lacquerwork representations of daily life of the Siamese people two centuries earlier. At the very beginning of 2020 Jean-Pierre De Neef, François Bayle and their teams were working enthusiastically on two specific projects: the exhibition and the book on the lacquerwork mentioned above and a very fine exhibition planned for 2021 in New York. Then along came the virus and upset the best-laid plans. The projects have been postponed, in all probability for a year. In order to continue funding preparations for these two major projects, the high quality art photos, validated by the artist himself before his death, are now on sale. This is an opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts to acquire the works of an Italian artist of recognised talent whose works are attractively priced before the exhibition in the USA, thus offering the advantage of a very strong potential for growth.
  • Creator:
    Fabrizio La Torre (1921 - 2014, Italian)
  • Creation Year:
    1956
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 23.63 in (60 cm)Width: 16.54 in (42 cm)Depth: 0.12 in (3 mm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Brussels, BE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU157029137892
More From This SellerView All
  • 100th Anniversary Celebration Coffret # 8 - Bargain - Vintage Photography
    Located in Brussels, BE
    Artwork sold in perfect condition Fabrizio La Torre’s 100th Anniversary Celebration (1921-2021) Set # 8 - Bargain Limited edition of 100 Coffrets for each themes, all artworks printe...
    Category

    1950s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • Verticalità, New York (1955) - Large size Black & White Fine Art Print
    Located in Brussels, BE
    Artwork # 1 on 5 sold in limited edition in perfect condition This photo was made in 1955, the negative was digitized during the artist's lifetime and the technical parameters (fram...
    Category

    1950s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • Le Tre Vespe, Roma 1962 - Contemporary Black & White Photography
    Located in Brussels, BE
    Artwork # 3 on 5 sold in perfect condition Limited Edition of 5 + 2 AP The 3 Vespas but also the 3 buzzing and twirling “bees”, since this is the translation of this Italian brand...
    Category

    1960s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • Tradizioni scomparse, Hong Kong 1958 - Large size Black & White Fine Art Print
    Located in Brussels, BE
    Artwork # 1 on 5 sold in limited edition in perfect condition Tradizioni scomparse, Hong Kong This photo was made in 1958, the negative was digitized during the artist's lifetime an...
    Category

    1950s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • 100th Anniversary Celebration Coffret # 12 - By the sea - Vintage Photography
    Located in Brussels, BE
    Artwork sold in perfect condition Fabrizio La Torre’s 100th Anniversary Celebration (1921-2021) Set # 12 - By the sea Limited edition of 100 Coffrets for each themes, all artworks pr...
    Category

    1950s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • Perso nell'immensità - New York, 1955 - Contemporary Black & White Photography
    Located in Brussels, BE
    Perso nell'immensità, 1955. Men and hats, in the streets of New York. Work sold in perfect condition, print on baryta paper 310 grs pigment inks of museum quality, limited edition of 5 copies Lost in the vastness of the city, this little man sitting against a building, probably a little busy alcohol, seems indifferent to this landscape without horizon, made of stones and steel. In his notes, the photographer specifies that he took this shot on a Monday morning, when the offices and stores. A desert vision of Manhattan that it's hard to imagine these days. During the 15 year period in which Fabrizio La Torre...
    Category

    1950s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

You May Also Like
  • Lotusland Cactus
    Located in Norwalk, CT
    This image is part of my Floraphilia portfolio that has been an ongoing visual exploration for over two decades. A B&W portfolio was first published in Lenswork Magazine in 2010, a s...
    Category

    2010s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • Our Waterlilies
    Located in Norwalk, CT
    This image is part of my Floraphilia portfolio that has been an ongoing visual exploration for over two decades. A B&W portfolio was first published in Lenswork Magazine in 2010, a s...
    Category

    2010s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • Dancing Orchids
    Located in Norwalk, CT
    This image is part of my Floraphilia portfolio that has been an ongoing visual exploration for over two decades. A B&W portfolio was first published in Lenswork Magazine in 2010, a s...
    Category

    2010s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment

  • Ninos de la Calle 4
    By Steve Schlackman
    Located in New York, NY
    Steve Schlackman is a lawyer by profession and a photographer by choice. Fascinated by the magical world of photography since his youth, he honed this skill over time, meticulously p...
    Category

    2010s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Digital, Photogram, Archival Pigment...

  • El Puerto
    By Steve Schlackman
    Located in New York, NY
    Steve Schlackman is a lawyer by profession and a photographer by choice. Fascinated by the magical world of photography since his youth, he honed this...
    Category

    2010s Photorealist Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Photographic Paper, Digital, Photogram, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

  • Blue Smoke
    Located in New York, NY
    “Ink Stories”, which was introduced at Nyari’s very first solo gallery exhibit, consists of large-scale nude photographs that explore the concept of self-identity and female empowerm...
    Category

    2010s Photorealist Nude Photography

    Materials

    Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Pho...

Recently Viewed

View All