BERENGO GARDIN (Gianni). - Lot 23

BERENGO GARDIN (Gianni). Pompeii. Text by Umberto Pappalardo, translated from Italian by Michel Bresson. Arles / Milan, Actes Sud - Motta, [circa 1997]. Large oblong quarto, publisher’s cardboard binding with illustrated dust jacket. French edition of this remarkable photographic interpretation of the site of Pompeii by Gianni Berengo Gardin, one of the great masters of 20th-century Italian photography. Taken exclusively in black and white, the images move beyond the classic archaeological documentary to offer a profoundly graphic and timeless interpretation of the ruins of the buried city. Text by archaeologist Umberto Pappalardo accompanies this sensitive journey through the ancient city, while the photographs reveal the dialogue between architecture, light, matter, and silence. Berengo Gardin captures the grandeur of the streets, residences, and monuments while evoking the subtle presence of a vanished way of life. A beautiful volume, printed with great care, which ranks among the most successful publications dedicated to Pompeii in the late 20th century. Condition: very good copy. A few very slight, scattered foxing spots on the endpapers, which do not affect the photographs. Dust jacket in excellent condition.