I Grandi Maestri: a century of Leica photography

I Grandi Maestri: a century of Leica photography

ROME – Making a historical journey through I Grandi Maestri 100 years Leica exhibition. Another month to see this spectacular exhibition. Don’t miss it!

Photography is one of my most favorite hobbies since it is the only way I can capture the most beautiful moments in life and especially while traveling and living abroad. During the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games I was offered as a gift a Leica C-LUX 2 which proved to be at the time a stylish, slim compact camera that didn’t sacrifice picture quality. Sporting a classic black metal body, a design classic – which could fit even into my pocket. That elegant exterior design that was matched by an impressive array of precision optics and digital technology inside became after my mobile phone the second thing that was always inside my bag.

What I came to realize 10 years after was that I was holding a piece of history in my hands. A week before Christmas I decided to visit the exhibition “I Grandi Maestri. 100 years of Leica photography” at the “Complesso del Vittoriano” in the heart of Piazza Venezia.

I was blessed to see an impressive series of 350 pictures taken by the vintage 35mm camera, divided chronologically and thematically into 16 groups taken by very well known photographers, –starting from Henri Cartier-Bresson up to  Gianni Berengo Gardin, William Klein, Robert Frank, Robert Capa, Elliott Erwitt and even more iconic photographers- and accompanied by beautiful archives, articles and cameras that were transferring the audience into the historical and emotional state in which every photograph had been taken. I was very honored to see that there was one photograph with our beloved Melina Mercouri taken by Herbert List but I was also astonished by the historical picture of Alfred Eisenstaedt celebrating the end of war in Times Square or the most iconic photograph of Che Guevara taken by Alberto Korda.

The exhibition that is under the auspices of the Institute for the preservation of Italian history is extremely rich in archives, documents, magazines, books and it is a definite “must see” once in Rome.

What fascinates me in Rome is that every time I visit one of its wonderful exhibitions a have the chance to feel more connected to history and understand the present so that I can envision the future. Because this is the only way we can accelerate in life. Knowing the past gives us the power to realize our potential so that we can dream big and make the change that we can see in this world.

The exhibition will be open to the public until February 18th 2018 in the following hours:

From Monday to Thursday 09:30-19:30

Friday & Saturday 09:30-22:00

Sunday 09:30 -20:30

(the entrance to the exhibition is open up to one hour before closure)

The tickets cost 12 Euros.

For more information please visit:

Complesso del Vittoriano

 

I Grandi Maestri

Alex Oikonomidou

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