© Werner Bischof / Magnum Photos
The Museo Diocesano Carlo Maria Martini in Milan presents the exhibition Werner Bischof. Point of View, which, 110 years after his birth, offers a wide-ranging overview of the life and work of the Swiss photographer, one of the most important photojournalists of the 20th century. A member of the Magnum Photos agency from 1949, Bischof (Zurich, 1916 – Trujillo, Peru, 1954) distinguished himself through a deeply humanistic approach to photojournalism, one that combined documentary rigour with poetic intensity.
The exhibition comprises 200 original vintage photographs, accompanied by a series of contact sheets and a documentary that, with a perspective that remains extraordinarily relevant today, tell their stories with empathy, care and profound respect for human dignity.
The exhibition unfolds across four chronological sections that retrace the key stages of Bischof’s career: Switzerland 1932–1944 recounts his years of training and his first experiments; Europe 1945–1950 brings together photographs documenting a Europe devastated by the Second World War, a theme that profoundly marked the photographer’s work and vision; Asia 1949–1953 gathers the reportage he produced in India, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Indochina; and finally, North and South America 1953–1954 bears witness to the final phase of Bischof’s research, with his new visual explorations of the American continent.
Immediacy and expressive power characterise every one of Bischof’s photographs, whose constant striving for a deeper reading of reality found expression in his rigorous formal care, his balanced compositions and the measured gradations of black and white with which he crafted his shots. These distinctive qualities earned him, even in his own time, critical recognition and the description – rare for a photojournalist – of a true “artist”. Indeed, Bischof would habitually take notes and make quick sketches or fully worked drawings, as can be seen in his diaries, in order to attune himself completely to the places, events and people he set out to portray, respecting their dignity and approaching these realities with intellectual finesse and the sensibility of a true humanist.
Daytime admission (Museum and exhibition)
Tuesday to Sunday: 10.00 am – 6.00 pm
entrance from Piazza S. Eustorgio 3
The ticket office closes at 5.30 pm
Full price: €9.00 / Reduced: €7.00
Evening admission to the exhibition*
Monday to Sunday, 5.30 pm – 10.30 pm (from Corso di Porta Ticinese, 95)
Last admission to the exhibition at 10.00 pm
In the evening, only the €12 package is available: a first drink at InChiostro Bistrot + exhibition admission
In the evening it is not possible to pre-purchase or book admission to the exhibition.
No reductions or free admission apply. The Abbonamento Card Musei Lombardia is not valid for entry.
Press accreditation is not available during evening hours.
*Closed during private events.
On such closure dates, the exhibition will not be open in the evening.
Information: CLICK HERE
