Mario De Biasi Il mio sogno è qui

The Electaphoto series presents a volume dedicated to Mario De Biasi (1923-2013), one of the undisputed Italian masters of photojournalism.

The book grew out of a collaboration with the Mario De Biasi Archives, Mondadori Portfolio and the Municipality of Belluno, his hometown, and takes the form of an exhaustive monograph on the work of an exceptional witness to histories and places of the world.

The volume includes an editorial essay by Enrica Viganò, which interprets various aspects of the master’s unmistakable style, made up of elegance, intensity, evocation, balance and invention with a precise critical analysis of his immense output ranging from photojournalism to abstract photography and Roberto Cotroneo describes De Biasi in his time, investigating the historical relevance of his work. A work that did not explain, did not pass judgment, did not argue, did not impose interpretations, but gave: it was, in its simplicity, a cultural instrument and resource for the imagination.

The rich visual album documents De Biasi’s courageous reporting on current affairs in full-page plates. As the first photographer to be hired by “Epoca” in 1953, his work ranged from recording the dramatic 1956 Hungarian uprising to his daring feat of venturing amid the tongues of lava to capture the eruption of Etna and covering the Apollo 11 astronauts. And then there were his great journeys in 1964 that took him from Siberia to Japan, his photo shoots for volumes of a geographical and anthropological character in Italy (the unmistakable images of Milan of yesterday and today) and abroad (innovative photographs of Finland), combining formal beauty with the human factor. Finally, a discreet but profound psychological introspection is captured in his many memorable portraits of the most famous figures in the worlds of art, cinema and literature.