Portfolio Ferdinando Scianna
FERDINANDO SCIANNA
Ferdinando Scianna was born in Bagheria in Sicily, in 1943. He began taking photographs in the 1960s, while he attended the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Palermo. In this period he systematically photographed his land, its people, its festivals. In 1965 the volume Religious Festivals in Sicily was published, with an essay by Leonardo Sciascia: thus began a long collaboration and friendship between Scianna and the Sicilian writer. A few years later, in 1967, he moved to Milan, worked for L'Europeo, and then as a correspondent from Paris, the city where he would live for ten years. In 1977 he published Les Siciliens (Denoel) in France, with texts by Domenique Fernandez and Leonardo Sciascia, and in Italy La villa dei mostri, again with an introduction by Sciascia. In Paris he wrote for Le Monde Diplomatique and La Quinzaine Litteraire and above all he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, whose works had influenced him from his youth. The great photographer introduced him in 1982, as the first Italian, to the prestigious Magnum agency. Since 1987 he has alternated fashion photography with reportage, enjoying international success. He is the author of numerous photographic books and has been carrying out a critical and journalistic activity for years; he has published many articles on topics related to photography and communication by images in general.
