INTRODUCTION

Some scholarly contributions have shed light on the obstacles that prevented women from succeeding in photography, as well as on the ideological foundations of a history of photography that kept them from becoming visible within dominant narratives. Despite this, women remain largely undetected, especially those active between the medium’s invention in 1839 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

Fotografiste is aimed at rediscovering women’s diversified roles in photography not so much as authors, but mostly as workers in various roles within the industry.

Fotografiste is focused on retrieving women’s identities and stories from photo archives in Lombardy and Tuscany, bringing them together under the banner of women’s labor history. It looks at these sources through innovative critical perspectives and methodological approaches, shedding light on the diverse practices, businesses, and cultural contributions that women brought to photography in Italy.

Virginia Gargioni and Giulio Rossi, Study of a female hand, ca. 1870
Albumen print 201x246 mm glued onto cardboard 310x357 mm
Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Historical collections, Photo library [F_00839]

Louisa Geraldine Bate Macpherson and Robert Turnbull Macpherson, The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum, c.1857

Albumen print 278x406 mm glued onto cardboard 489x639 mm

Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Historical collections, Photo library [F_00429]

METHODOLOGY

By moving beyond medium specific history, Fotografiste offers an alternative to dominant narratives shaped by traditional art history. It looks at photographs not solely as authorial images, but also as parts of integrated networks of different media, businesses, practices, technologies, fields of knowledge.

Through an inclusive and diversified approach, photographs are integrated with other types of sources, such as manuscripts, journals, ephemera, business and civil registries.

The findings are analysed through machine learning and network analysis, allowing the tracking of significant relationships among archival materials, illuminating women’s illuminating women’s roles through clustering and visualisation techniques.

Items linked to women in photography are located within the selected archival sources, resulting in the recovery of neglected information and materials, the creation of new archival records, and the questioning archival standards.

Sorelle Marsini, Portrait of a Child, ca. 1865-1870 Carte de visite, recto, albumen print 89x57 mm glued onto cardboard 102x62 mm
Archivio Fotografico Lucchese “Arnaldo Fazzi”
[ICD 3468]

Stabilimento fotografico Sorelle Marsini, ca. 1870

Carte de visite, verso with printed detail of the photographic studio, cardboard 104x62 mm

Archivio Fotografico Lucchese “Arnaldo Fazzi”

[VAF 756]

Sorelle Marsini, Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1865-1870

Carte de visite, recto, albumen print 90x56 mm glued onto cardboard 102x62 mm, recto
Archivio Fotografico Lucchese “Arnaldo Fazzi”
[IDF 814]

OBJECTIVES

ENHANCING ACCESSIBILITY

TO ARCHIVES

Improving access to photographic archives by creating new archival records and updating existing ones to include information on women’s roles in photography.

REFRAMING

PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY

Building a more inclusive, cross-disciplinary narrative, capable of bringing justice to women’s contributions across various photography sectors, from workwomen to artists, amateurs and entrepreneurs.

ENGAGING

WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Fostering the involvement of local communities by participatory events aimed at the valorisation of historical heritage, and at tackling issues of gender inequality.

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INTRODUCTION

METHODOLOGY

OBJECTIVES

Archivio Storico, Ferrania Film Museum, Cairo Montenotte (SV) | Home, ProjectArchivio Storico Comunale, Lucca | People, Reading List, Activities

Archivio Storico, Ferrania Film Museum, Cairo Montenotte (SV) | Home, Project
Archivio Storico Comunale, Lucca | People, Reading List, Activities