Tinto Brass: Eros, Memory and Disobedience in Brescia Exhibition

At 92, Italian filmmaker Tinto Brass lives in Isola Farnese, a hidden village on the Appian Way, where he moved in the 1970s. His wife Caterina Varzi, a lawyer and psychologist, curates his archive. The exhibition 'Tanto di Tinto. L'erotismo secondo Tinto Brass' is hosted at Cavallerizza in Brescia until September 7, 2025, as part of the eighth Brescia Photo Festival themed 'Archives'. It features over 100 photographs by Gianfranco Salis, documenting forty years of Brass's erotic cinema from 'La chiave' (1983) to 'Hotel Courbet' (2009). The show was conceived by Renato Corsini, artistic director of the Centro della Fotografia Italiana, and Varzi. Brass discusses his grandfather Italico Brass, a painter, and his early influences from Venetian Renaissance painters like Tintoretto and Titian. He recalls his time at the Cinémathèque française in the late 1950s, meeting Godard, Truffaut, and Rivette. He views eroticism as revolutionary and censorship as a stimulant. A section includes photos from 'Tenera è la carne', an unfinished film halted after three weeks due to the producer's death. Brass emphasizes poetry, irony, and lightness in his work, contrasting today's exhibitionism with his nuanced approach.