Franco Fontana's book: 'Skyline'
His first 1978 book reissued
Following on my post ‘When in Rome…’, I ordered Franco Fontana’s first book: ‘Skyline’. The book has been reissued with new scans of the work, but is apparently otherwise unchanged. It is from a small publisher in Milan, Italy called Lazy Dog.
The book arrived yesterday, and it did not disappoint. It is marvellous. The photographs are beautifully reproduced. It is a slim volume, softcover, as issued in 1978.
The book raises many questions for me, in regard to who took Fontana’s way of seeing and made their own version. Sugimoto’s seascapes, Gursky’s Rhine II, etc.
For those who are interested, here is a link to the order page for the publisher:
https://lazydog.eu/en/product/skyline-2/
When you click the link - even if you decide not to buy the book - you can see a few doublepage spreads, which will give you an idea of just how revolutionary this was in 1978. Fontana changed the way I think about colour photography. His way of seeing is now, and was then, truly visionary.
And here a link to my original post about Franco Fontana:
When in Rome - see Franco Fontana
A few years ago, I went to Modena. Osteria Franciscana was the #1 restaurant in the world. Chef Massimo Bottura was holding court. But this is not why I was in Modena. I went to see Franco Fontana. Two concurrent exhibitions across three venues showed colour photography at its best. The city of Modena was finally giving their famous son a retrospe…
Have a great weekend!
Until next time…..
Your article on Fontana encouraged me to look for a book of his here in the US and i found “Unpublished Notes”, a treasure trove of his works of color. Amazing. Much thanks Søren.
Revolutionary work and I'd also say, evergreen. The style is timeless - and I love color photography! Thank you and I would like to order one.