The dolce vita in photos

"Le Balzac" cinema in Paris is hosting the photographic exhibition "La Dolce Vita
de Carlo Riccardi", from 9 December, 2011 to 5 February, 2012, with the support of Enel France.

Take a journey through the world of "la dolce vita" through the images of the era, with Carlo Riccardi's photo exhibition "La Dolce Vita
de Carlo Riccardi", at "Le Balzac" cinema from
9 December, 2011 to 5 February, 2012, with the support of Enel France. Around 35 portray some of the famous actors and actresses of the 50s and 60s, from Claudia Cardinale to Alain Delon, from Brigitte Bardot to Audrey Hepburn, who walked the streets of the Eternal City, especially the via Veneto. Carlo Riccardi had his studio near the place Esedra, while the Americans were still in Rome.
During the period he met Fellini, who was wandering around those same places and the Piazza di Spagna armed with pencils and paper to draw portraits of the liberators. The first important images, of the stars that were beginning to populate the public imagination after the war, were taken by Riccardi on via Condotti. Then the dolce vita exploded onto the Via Veneto, among the luxury hotels and the cafe tables where actors and intellectuals sat side by side. During these years Riccardi went through the streets of Rome in a Fiat Topolino and thanks to an informant cousin of his,
a bartender on Via Veneto, he always managed to arrive in time to photograph the actors of the moment. He was the first paparazzi. However, he started before the appearance of the paparazzi phenomenon. Under the Rome skies, Italian and international stars grew in humanity and character in his shots. Riccardi brought them closer to the people by immersing them in the everyday life of the city.
In order to highlight this poetic feature of the Roman photographer, the exhibition has chosen not to focus exclusively on "la dolce vita".

A chronicler of the era

In his career as a photographer Riccardi tried to show life in several guises: the street was his theatre, the stage on which a unique Italian lifestyle was acted out and even became legendary. He also immortalized anonymous characters, such the first women in the workplace, which was a novelty in 1950s Italy. That is why Riccardi is regarded as a chronicler of the era. As in the Commedia all'italiana which uses laughter in an oblique but nonetheless serious evocation of Italian social, political and cultural issues, the exhibition also seeks to provide a snapshot of Italian society in the 50s and 60s. So, alongside images of Italian and international stars, there photographs, for example, of young girls queuing in front of Titanus studios waiting for an audition (1954), or well-dressed ladies taking part in the Tenth International Elegance Contest (1957).