Sergio Strizzi: The Perfect Moment

Sergio Strizzi (1931-2004) was a still photographer who worked on some of the most important film sets both in Italy and abroad from the 1950s to the early 2000s.

Passionate about photography from an early age, he began his career working as a reporter for Italy’s Publifoto agency before receiving his first movie-related commission in 1952. He would go on to document such iconic films as The Gold of Naples, directed by Vittorio De Sica, and The River Girl, starring Sophia Loren.

During the 1960s Strizzi collaborated with Michelangelo Antonioni, chronicling the production of his great trilogy of alienation La notte, L’eclisse and Red Desert. His subsequent work on the sets of several James Bond films represented something of a turning point in his career, bringing him to the attention of directors around the world.

In 1979 Audrey Hepburn chose Strizzi to photograph her for a feature published in Life magazine. Over the following decade he was commissioned to work on major films such as John Huston’s Escape to Victory as well as Terry Gilliam’s Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and during the 1990s continued to collaborate with high-profile names including Giuseppe Tornatore and Roberto Benigni. One of his later projects was documenting the film Ripley’s Game (2002) directed by Liliana Cavani.

Widely appreciated as one of the world’s greatest set photographers, Strizzi documented over 100 films during his long career and was considered an artist in his own right by those he worked with.

This exhibition, organised in collaboration with Rome’s Archivio Sergio Strizzi, comprises some 80 images spanning the photographer’s entire career, and is the first survey of his work in the UK.

Every Thursday during the exhibition the Estorick Collection and Caffè Estorick will be open until 20.00.

Images:
Monica Vitti, Torre Galfa - Milan, 1960; Marcello Mastroianni on the set of La notte by Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960; Sophia Loren on the set of La donna del fiume by Mario Soldati, 1954; Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau on the set of La Notte by Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960 © Archivio Sergio Strizzi