Antonella Russo's 'Quattro storie d'amore e di fotografia' explores love across photographic history

Antonella Russo, a key figure in Italian photography, has published 'Quattro storie d'amore e di fotografia' with Jaca Book. The book transversally reads photography history through psychoanalysis, physics, politics, and sociology. It is divided into four parts, each linking a different type of love to photography. The first part examines surrealist photography's amorous condition, referencing André Breton's novels 'Nadja' and 'L'Amour fou', and the work of Man Ray. The second part focuses on American documentary photographer W. Eugene Smith, whose compassionate love and pietas define his humanistic approach. The third part analyzes photography as an icon of sentiment, exemplified by Margaret Bourke-White's 1946 image 'Gandhi and the Spinning Wheel', which became a symbol of peace and labor. The fourth, most original part addresses familial love, discussing personal photographs and memories, echoing Roland Barthes' 'Camera Lucida'. The book argues that photography transcends genres and categories, offering a broad semantic understanding of the image. Published in Milan in 2021, the 232-page volume costs €38.