Lartigue | Kertész – Riccione, Italy

Lartigue – Kertész. The Great Photography of the Twentieth Century

From November 23rd Villa Mussolini hosts the first Italian exhibition on the two masters of world photography

The extraordinary cultural season of Riccione continues in autumn and until spring of next year, when Villa Mussolini will host the first Italian exhibition of two masters of world photography: Jacques Henri Lartigue and André Kertész , the former considered the master of the snapshot, the latter the great interpreter of the most thoughtful photography. The extraordinary exhibition of Riccione, composed of over 124 black and white photographs, brings together in a single exhibition itinerary the most famous images of two of the greatest masters of twentieth-century photography. 

The exhibition

Jacques Henri Lartigue – André Kertész

THE GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894 – 1986) and André Kertész (1894 – 1985) were born in the same year at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. They might have met in Paris between the two wars, but their first meeting did not take place until 1972, in New York.

They exhibited at MoMA in 1963 and 1964 respectively, where they were described as a primitive amateur, the former, and as “the inventor of photojournalism,” the latter. Both pioneers of modern photography, they left behind works with a singular aesthetic. These exhibitions were a crucial moment that marked the beginning of international and institutional recognition for Lartigue and the rediscovery for Kertész, after two more silent decades. The two exhibitions also contributed to affirming the style of the two photographers in the first half of the 20th century, identifying them as precursors of a visual modernity. 

Lartigue is considered a master of the snapshot, Kertész a master of reflective photography. Lartigue and Kertész never took the easy path to recognition. They built their works with the greatest freedom, far from the great artistic movements. Since the 1970s, these two independent personalities were considered as models without a school. Putting their photographs side by side allows us to show both their convergences and their divergences in life and points of view.

The exhibition, curated by Marion Perceval and Matthieu Rivallin, is promoted by the Municipality of Riccione and organized by Civita Mostre e Musei in collaboration with diChroma photography and Rjma Progetti Culturali.

November 23, 2024 – April 6, 2025

Lartigue – Kertész. The Great Photography of the Twentieth Century

Riccione, Mussolini’s Villa

Civita Exhibitions and Museums