Chronorama at the Palazzo Grassi. "Is journalism art?" Anna Wintour

Art Calendar, 7 April 2023

CHRONORAMA, Treasures

from the Condé Nast Archive.

This exhibition is as historic as it is stunning, as is its location, Palazzo Grassi in Venice. 1910 to 1979, women and men, historical moments, everyday life, dreams and the dramas of the 20th century.

Inside Palazzo Grassi ©Pinault Collection

"CHRONORAMA", Photographic treasures of the 20th century from the Condé Nast archive, recently acquired by the Pinault Collection.

This exhibition is stunning, as is its location, Palazzo Grassi in Venice. The treasures will be on display from 12 March 2023 to 7 January 2024. The exhibition presents photographs, some of which have never been seen before, gathered together in a selection of 407 works dating from 1910 to 1979, shown in chronological order, decade by decade, and depicting the women and men, the historical moments, the everyday, the dreams and the dramas of the 20th century.

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"CHRONORAMA" represents both the passing of time and the images that remain of it. Works by more than 150 artists are featured, including Edward Steichen, Berenice Abbott, Cecil Beaton, Lee Miller, André Kertész, Horst P. Horst, Diane Arbus, Irving Penn and Helmut Newton, as well as illustrators Eduardo Garcia Benito, Helen Dryden and George Wolfe Plank. They are among the leading talents of their generation and have shaped the photographic and artistic aesthetic of their time through the publication of their work in the various Condé Nast publications, including Vogue, Vanity Fair, House & Garden, Glamour and GQ.

The commissioned works, intended for publication in magazines, are treated as works of art in their own right with this exhibition. If the 19th century was the last era of the written word, the 20th could become that of the image. The exhibition focuses on the prolific culture of photography in the last century, before the advent of digital technology.

"Although monumental in number and emblematic in their commemorative scope, these works only represent a tiny part of Condé Nast's exceptional archives, acquired in part by the Pinault Collection, which possesses some of the finest photographs in the world. I am very happy to be able to share these treasures with the public."

François Pinault, President of Palazzo Grassi-Punta della Dogana, Pinault Collection Introduction

Anna Wintour, Chief Content Officer, Condé Nast, posed the question:

"Is journalism art? Of course, and every page of this book puts that question to rest. But magazine pictures are also something slightly on the side of art, and that is why they seem so brave to me. To tell the story of the moment you're in is not always an easy thing. Who is relevant? What matters now? What is happening? The answers can set off a storm of debate."

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CHRONORAMA

Photographic Treasures of the 20th Century Palazzo Grassi

Venice 12.03.2023-07.01.2024

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The Palazzo Grassi

(1748-1772) is a palace on the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice, recently acquired by the Pinault Collection. After being bought by the Fiat Group in 1983, the palace has been owned by the French entrepreneur François Pinault since 2006, who shows his collection of modern art there.

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