Paolo Monti (11 August 1908 – 29 November 1982) was an Italian photographer, known for his

architectural photography Architectural photography is the sub genre of the photography discipline where the primary emphasis is made to capturing photographs of buildings and similar architectural structures that are both aesthetically pleasing and accurate in terms of re ...

. In his early period, Monti experimented with

abstractionism Abstractionism is the theory that the mind obtains some or all of its concepts by abstracting them from concepts it already has, or from experience.Geach, Peter (1957) Mental Acts - Their Contents and Their Objects. Routledge Kegan Paul. One may, ...

as well as with effects such as blurring and diffraction. In 1953, he became a professional photographer. He mainly worked with architecture reproductions which were used by magazines and book editors for illustration. Starting from 1966, Monti catalogued historic centers of Italian cities.

Early life and education

Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Italia, 1954) - BEIC 6340859

Monti was born in

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

. His father was a banker and amateur photographer from Val d'Ossola. His family moved several times as his father was transferred between small towns. He attended

Bocconi University Bocconi University ( it, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, ) is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and comput ...

in Milan and graduated in Economics in 1930.

Life and work

After graduation he worked for a few years in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region. His father died in 1936 and shortly afterwards Paolo married Maria Binotti. From 1939 to 1945 he lived in

Mestre Mestre () is a borough of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy. Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the ''Municipalità di ...

near

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, then moved to Venice proper where he worked at the Regional Agricultural Cooperative and continued his hobby of photography. In his early period, Monti experimented with

as well as with effects such as blurring and diffraction. He helped found the club La Gondola in 1947 which shortly became a feature of the international

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

photography movement. In 1953 Monti became a professional photographer, working mainly with magazines in the field of architecture and design. He helped illustrate over 200 volumes on cities and regions, architects and artists. Starting in about 1965 he photographed illustrations for the history of

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

and also photographed Apennine valleys including the region of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. Later his photography related to

Italian art Since ancient times, Greeks, Etruscans and Celts have inhabited the south, centre and north of the Italian peninsula respectively. The very numerous rock drawings in Valcamonica are as old as 8,000 BC, and there are rich remains of Etruscan art ...

history. After 1980 he concentrated on photographically documenting the heritage of

Lake Orta Lake Orta (Italian: ''Lago d’Orta'') is a lake in northern Italy, west of Lake Maggiore. It has been so named since the 16th century, but was previously called Lago di San Giulio, after Saint Julius (4th century), the patron saint of the regi ...

and Val d'Ossola. For this work, in 1981 he was awarded a national Umberto Zanotti Bianco Prize.

Death and legacy

Monti died in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

on 29 November 1982. His archive has been declared of notable historical interest by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities in 2004 and was acquired by the BEIC Foundation in 2008, catalogued and opened to the public.

Publications

*''Paolo Monti.'' Milan: Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1983. . Text by Antonio Arcari. *''Paolo Monti: Fotografo di Brunelleschi: le Architetture Fiorentine.'' Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna: Grafis, 1986. . Edited by Franco Bonilauri. With an essay by Salvatore Di Pasquale, "Filippo Brunelleschi dal mito al mistero" (Filippo Brunelleschi from myth to the mystery). "Catalog of an exhibition held at the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, July 19-Aug. 12, 1986.""Paolo Monti, fotografo di Brunelleschi : le architetture fiorentine"

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

. Accessed 8 October 2016 *''Fotografie 1950–1980.'' Milan: F. Motta, 1993. . Edited by Giovanni Chiaramonte.

Exhibitions

*First Biennial International Photographic Exhibition, Venice, 1957.

Collections

Monti's work is held in the following permanent collection: * Sforza Castle Pinacoteca,

Sforza Castle The Castello Sforzesco (Italian for "Sforza's Castle") is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later reno ...

Museums, Milan

Gallery

File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Milano, 1953) - BEIC 6340480.jpg, ''Lo spazio della memoria. Piazza della Vetra'' ''nel 1953'' (The space of memory. Vetra's square in 1953) –

, 1953 File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Anzola d'Ossola, 1964) - BEIC 6337052.jpg, Anzola d'Ossola, 1964 File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Massa Lubrense, 1966) - BEIC 6329011.jpg, ''Villa Castellano a Punta Lagno'' (Castellano's villa at Punta Lagno) –

Massa Lubrense Massa Lubrense ( nap, Màssë) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about southeast of Naples. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 13,404 and an area of 19.7 km2 ...

, 1966 File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Ancona, 1969) - BEIC 6354376.jpg,

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, 1969 File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Venezia, 1971) - BEIC 6341069.jpg, ''Manifesto strappato'' (Ripped poster) –

, 1971 File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Rocca Canavese, 1979) - BEIC 6330647.jpg,

Rocca Canavese Rocca Canavese is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin. Rocca Canavese borders the following municipalities: Corio (TO), Corio, Forno Canavese, Levo ...

, 1979 File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica - BEIC 6334861.jpg, Venetian Lagoon, 1982 File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica - BEIC 6357512.jpg, Lady's portrait, 1970

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monti, Paolo Italian photographers 1908 births 1982 deaths Architectural photographers People from Novara Bocconi University alumni