Elisabetta Catalano Biography
Elisabetta Catalano (1944-2015) was an Italian photographer whose work is inextricably linked to the world of art and entertainment. She came to photography as a self-taught person and on the set of 8 and 1/2, where she played the role of Anouk Aimée's sister, she got noticed by Federico Fellini for the shots she took during breaks in production. From there she began a very strong partnership with entertainment celebrities who had her immortalize them in portraits that later became iconic: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Anna Magnani, Monica Vitti; Fellini himself had his portrait painted by her several times and used her photos as covers for his books. He began working for "Il Mondo", "l'Espresso" and "Vogue", creating photographic services and portraits for the world of entertainment. Working for the Studium Agency, he created portraits of cultural figures, high society and the Roman aristocracy. In the 1970s he decided to dedicate himself entirely to the work of documenting contemporary art society. Weiner, Gilbert&George, Boetti, Merz, Pascali, Kosuth, De Dominicis, Pistoletto, Pisani are just some of the artists who formed a professional relationship with her. Many of them will use an image of Catalano to create a work of art. Others will create performances together with her and only with her, giving life to a real genre, the artistic performance in the studio, behind closed doors, without an audience, created only for the photographic action. Some of his most famous images created for and with Fabio Mauri are: Ebrea (1971), Ideologia e Natura (1973), Il Muro del Pianto (1993). Among his books: Men (1973), Time for portraits (1987).
