Galleria Civica di Modena has opened, at Palazzo Santa Margherita, “The Cinema Show”, a display of works from the photography collection of the modenese museum curated by Daniele De Luigi and Marco Pierini. The selection of images pays tribute to the “seventh art form” and its protagonists: while a consistent number draws on the collection donated by Franco Fontana, numerous images are taken from among the new acquisitions, set to enhance the Gallery’s photographic heritage.

The exhibition itinerary embraces a century of cinema: from the experimental short film “Thaïs” by Anton Giulio Bragaglia, 1917, throughout the 20th century, right up to the Italian and international films of recent years and their protagonists, from Woody Allen to Bill Murray, from Nanni Moretti to Paolo Sorrentino. With photographs from the set, studio portraits, shots taken during breaks in shooting or captured unawares along the street, the images constitute a highly varied depiction of the world of the silver screen and the cinematographic dimension, forever suspended between reality and imagination. Among the stars and divas posing for the lens, there are Marlene Dietrich and Carroll Baker, John Huston and Tony Curtis, Totò and Roberto Benigni, not to mention Claudia Gerini and Cristiana Capotondi. Klaus Kinsy is portrayed with his son Nanhoï in his arms, while Marilyn Monroe, Anna Magnani, Audrey Hepburn are ‘paparazzied’. Famous directors are also shown on the sets of their films, in moments of great concentration (Visconti, Antonioni), during intense conversations with actors (Bertolucci with Depardieu in 1900, Pasolini with Callas in Medea) or while showing how a scene is to be performed (Fellini in 8½, the Taviani brothers in Kaos). Even the actors themselves are often caught on the set, while acting or during their moments of relaxation, like Eduardo De Filippo joking with Mastroianni. A major section of the exhibition is given over to scene photography, with images by some of the greatest representatives of this very particular photographic genre from the film sets of “La terra trema” (The Earth Trembles) and “Citizen Kane”, and stars such as Robert De Niro, Alberto Sordi, Jane Fonda, Charlotte Rampling and Ingrid Bergman.

The exhibition features the works of some 40 photographers, some of whom have dedicated their entire lives to cinema, and others who over the course of their careers have produced occasional portraits of some of its protagonists. The photographers include, Philippe Antonello, Enrico Appetito, Franco Bellomo, Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Jean-François Bauret, Giovanni Cozzi, Chico De Luigi, Franco Fontana, David Gamble, Marcello Geppetti, Pino Guidolotti, Horst P. Horst, Emilio Lari, Erich Lessing, Gina Lollobrigida, Umberto Montiroli, Luciana Mulas, Ugo Mulas, Claude Nori, Gabriele Pagnini, Federico Patellani, John Phillips, Roger Pic, Pierluigi Praturlon, Paul Ronald, Gianfranco Salis, Tazio Secchiaroli, Pino Settanni, Angelo Turetta and Mario Tursi.

The exhibition is part of a project undertaken in 2011, aimed at displaying the heritage of the Galleria Civica di Modena on a regular basis, and will remain on show in the Main Hall of Palazzo Santa Margherita until 7 June 2015.