Mario Giacomelli Italian, 1925-2000

Mario Giacomelli (1925 - 2000) was born in Senigallia, Italy in 1925. At age thirteen he worked as a printer where the fascination with his surroundings grew. He purchased his first camera in 1953 and began experimenting with technique and discovered his own visual language. Often inspired by poetry, he photographed the landscape, elder care homes, and villages in Italy. He is best known for his series ‘There are no Hands to Caress my Face’ where he photographed young priests in moments of relaxation at a seminary in his hometown. Giacomelli’s work has been exhibited in Rome, Milan, Berlin, and Paris among other cities. His works belong to numerous private and public collections. In 1973, John Szarkowski published one of his images from Scanno, as one of the hundred best photographs from MOMA’s collection. Giacomelli died in 2000.