Aurelio Amendola

Aurelio Amendola (born 1938) has, during his exceptional career as a fine art photographer, devoted himself to the field of contemporary art. Amendola has created an archive of portraits of the most renowned masters of the 19th century—a gallery of illustrious figures in art history—alongside the standard bearers of 20th‑century art such as De Chirico, Pomodoro, Schifano, Lichtenstein, and Warhol.

Thanks to his long personal relationships with many celebrated artists—Manzù, Fabbri, Ceroli, Vangi, Kounellis, Pistoletto—he has published countless monographs illustrated with his photographs. His friendships with Marino Marini and Alberto Burri, unforgettable companions on the road and in life, have been invaluable. At the same time, Amendola stands out for his renowned photographs of Italian Renaissance sculptures, and more broadly for those devoted to the classical tradition. He brings an intimate understanding of their volumes, three‑dimensionality, and contrasts. Each picture offers a viewpoint that departs from a purely documentary approach in favor of a tactile, emotional, sensory vision.

His career began with the volume Il pulpito di Giovanni Pisano a Pistoia (1969). This first photographic campaign (1964) was followed by many others, tracing each subject with rigorous precision and ever‑evolving interpretation, primarily through masterful use of light. His interest in antiquity developed into numerous photographic projects capturing masterworks by Donatello, Bernini, and Michelangelo. He has dedicated multiple catalogs, exhibitions, and monographs to Michelangelo’s marbles—his alter ego and constant inspiration. In 1994, Amendola won the Oscar Goldoni Prize for best photographic book of the year for Un occhio su Michelangelo (about the Medici Chapels in Florence). He has also tackled grand themes in Italian art, producing volumes on St. Peter’s Basilica that display elegant perspectives, unexpected details, and unprecedented views.

Over the years, Amendola has continuously experimented with high‑contrast printing, juxtapositions, unique cropping, and point‑of‑view compositions. He revitalizes the ancient into the contemporary and gives modern subjects a classical treatment, each time creating timeless photographic sequences. Through his art, the marbles of Canova, Michelangelo, and Bernini appear as if they were flesh, coming to life.

His works are held in numerous prestigious public and private collections, including Fondazione Maramotti (Reggio Emilia), GAM (Turin), Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro (Milan), MAXXI (Rome), Fondazione Alberto Burri (Città di Castello), the Uffizi, Palazzo Fabroni (Pistoia), and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia. His national and international exhibitions are many, and his honors include the Cino da Pistoia Prize (1997), Il Micco (2012), an Academic Diploma Honoris Causa in Visual Arts and the title Accademico d’Italia (2014, Accademia di Belle Arti di Catanzaro), the docufilm Obiettivo sull’arte (2015, directed by Beatrice Corti), and the Una vita per l’arte award (Gaeta, 2016). In November 2009 he was received by Pope Benedict XVI in the Sistine Chapel, and in February 2021 his hometown of Pistoia dedicated an exhibition to him entitled Un’Antologia (An Anthology), curated by Paola Goretti and Marco Meneguzzo.