Cy Twombly's Photographic Practice Explored in Rome Exhibition

A new exhibition at Gagosian Rome focuses on Cy Twombly's lesser-known photographic work, revealing how the artist used the medium as a visual diary from his college years onward. The intimate images capture key locations and objects from his life, as well as artworks that caught his eye. Twombly's painterly approach is evident in his photographs, where he blurs lines and manipulates light to create the illusion of drawings or paintings, paying homage to the Pictorialist movement of Steichen and Stieglitz. The blurring effect also evokes temporal suspension, transforming his engagement with universal memory—drawn from ancient art—into a personal memory of places and things. The circular wall of the gallery space further accentuates the concept of time underlying the exhibition.