Luigi Bertazzini Biography
Luigi Bertazzini was born in Cuneo in 1907 and, for many years, worked as an apprentice of the historic photojournalist Silvio Ottolenghi. In 1940, following the restrictions of the racial laws, the photographer took over his mentor's studio located in Piazza Carlo Felice 23-25. Bertazzini also retained the company's historic slogan "Nothing escapes my goal" for a certain period, until Ottolenghi, at the end of the war, following a legal battle, managed to regain it. In 1942, Bertazzini documented the damage caused in Turin by the bombings and in 1952 he was a set photographer for the film "The street urchin" directed by Carlo Borghesio. Bertazzini is best known for his portraits of actors and actresses, produced in the 1940s and 1950s, but his work also led him to photograph mainly city, sporting and social events, commemorations, fairs, school groups and industrial and artisanal through numerous reportages. At the end of the 1950s, Bertazzini moved his business to via Fratelli Calandra 12, inside the courtyard, where in addition to some apprentices he was assisted by the significant presence of Ernesto Spezia, considered the shadow man of the Bertazzini firm. After his death, the atelier will continue to operate for some time, closing definitively in 1981. In Turin, a photographic collection of negatives on plates by Luigi Bertazzini is preserved in the National Cinematographic Archive of the Resistance, while the Association for Historical Photography preserves a collection of vintage prints.
