Oliviero Toscani: Humanity Revealed

Oliviero Toscani, son of the first photojournalist of Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, was born in Milan in 1942 and studied photography and design at the University of the Arts in Zurich. Iconic photographer, he is internationally renowned as the creative force behind some of the world's most successful brands, creating through the years corporate images and advertising campaigns for companies such as Esprit, Chanel, Fiorucci, Prenatal and many more.

He built the identity, corporate image, communication strategy and online presence of United Colors of Benetton, transforming it into one of the world's most recognized brands and conceiving in this period some of his major masterpieces. Toscani combines his activity as a fashion photographer with that of a reporter, testifying, with his camera, current events with a focus on the human condition.

Moving between Paris, London, Milan, and New York, he collaborates with international newspapers and magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Esquire, Stern, Liberation, and many others, and has exhibited his work in modern and contemporary art museums all over the world.

In Conversation with
Oliviero Toscani

We met the artist and ask him about his creative vision and the role of the photographer today. Read the interview to discover his unique artistic approach:

"The transition from analog to digital has meant that the photographic medium was simplified, but the essence of the photographer itself does not change. Like a writer, he doesn't write better with a Montblanc instead of a pencil. So, the camera is a medium like any other." - said Toscani.

"Printing my works on concrete supports was a very interesting experiment but I just consider it a diffusion medium at the service of the artistic vision. What moves me is capturing photographs and witnessing my time, whether it's through a camera, a smartphone, on paper or concrete.

I think that the true photographer is not a camera maniac, but an intellectual who criticizes the world and is able to see something and show it to other people. This is my real job. Through my photography I want to carry on my research and raise awareness for social issues. My images were seen worldwide through means of mass communication, posters and newspapers, they are made to be shared, not taken in the studio for a sort of artistic and aesthetic gratification, they are historical memories of humanity. I take pictures because I want to record something and tell a story using photography."

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