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Vintage gelatin silver print
cm 19,5 x 29,8 | 7.7 x 11.7 in.
Titled in blue ink, photographer's credit stamp and Archivio Riccardo Moncalvo caption stamp with signature on the verso
At the beginning of his career, the photographer from Turin was close to the Romantic aesthetic, which he later abandoned—as can easily be seen here—in favor of a drier, more modern type of image influenced by the suggestions of the New Objectivity movement. The essential nature of the forms and the geometric approach are clearly present in "Sul bordo", a photograph that addresses one of Moncalvo’s favorite subjects: the mountains. He does so with an exceptional image, starting with the choice of vantage point, which creates a frame within which the figure of the climber appears. The climber’s slightly backward-leaning posture is integrated into an original composition that cuts diagonally across the space. Even more infused with a contemporary spirit is "La vetrinista", where one can note not only the author’s great skill in managing color, but also his ability to construct a theatrically flavored scene. The foreground figures appear blurred and indistinct, the left side of the image reveals a perspective vanishing point, and the girl—though seated with her back to the photographer—rises to the role of elegant protagonist.
cm 19,5 x 29,8 | 7.7 x 11.7 in.
Titled in blue ink, photographer's credit stamp and Archivio Riccardo Moncalvo caption stamp with signature on the verso
Literature
B. Bergaglio (edited by), Riccardo Moncalvo Fotografie 1932-1990, Dario Cimorelli Editore 2025, pp. 50, 51
Riccardo Moncalvo (Turin 1915 - 2008) has always combined professional work done in the Atelier of Artistic and Industrial Photography founded in 1925 by his father Carlo Emilio and personal research. A member of the historic Subalpine Photographic Society, he started by publishing in the prestigious “Lights and Shadows Yearbook.” Also technically ingenious, he was among the first in Italy to use the handy Leica camera on which he applied a rotating turret to more quickly use three lenses of different focal lengths. He worked for architects such as Carlo Mollino and Ettore Sottsass and published several books. His laboratory was one of the first in the postwar period to make the first professional photographic prints. At the beginning of his career, the photographer from Turin was close to the Romantic aesthetic, which he later abandoned—as can easily be seen here—in favor of a drier, more modern type of image influenced by the suggestions of the New Objectivity movement. The essential nature of the forms and the geometric approach are clearly present in "Sul bordo", a photograph that addresses one of Moncalvo’s favorite subjects: the mountains. He does so with an exceptional image, starting with the choice of vantage point, which creates a frame within which the figure of the climber appears. The climber’s slightly backward-leaning posture is integrated into an original composition that cuts diagonally across the space. Even more infused with a contemporary spirit is "La vetrinista", where one can note not only the author’s great skill in managing color, but also his ability to construct a theatrically flavored scene. The foreground figures appear blurred and indistinct, the left side of the image reveals a perspective vanishing point, and the girl—though seated with her back to the photographer—rises to the role of elegant protagonist.
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