Carla De Benedetti

Carla De Benedetti (16 August 1932 – 22 November 2013) was an Italian photographer and photojournalist whose professional interests focused on architecture and interiors. In addition for decades De Benedetti did photographic and documentary research on the cultures of Africa.

Early life and career Carla De Benedetti was born in Milan, Italy. Her mother, Susanna Teglio, was born near Lyon, in France. Her father, Arrigo De Benedetti, trained as an engineer and served as a Captain in the Italian artillery during World War I. In 1943 during World War II Italy was occupied by the German army. When the family learned they were about to be arrested by the Gestapo, the German secret police, they went into hiding. In December in the dead of night and winter they crossed the Alps mountains by foot and escaped into Switzerland.

Carla De Benedetti studied architecture in the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy and then photography at the Kunstgewerbeschule (today University of the Arts) in Zurich, Switzerland. This experience gave her the opportunity to associate her knowledge of architectural design with a mastery of photographic techniques. In the 1960s the photography of architecture and interiors in Europe was the exclusive domain of male photographers. A former editor of the fashionable Italian periodical, Casa Vogue, had this to say about the situation: "When interior design began to develop as a widespread fashion among the elite of the new emerging bourgeoisie in Italy, Carla De Benedetti was taking her first steps as a photographer specialized in this field. She was the only woman in Italy, and probably in the whole world, among the few professional photographers in this sector."

With respect to architectural photography the situation was much the same. The glass ceilings De Benedetti had to break, effectively becoming one of the first women professionals in these fields, were formidable. To illustrate male attitudes she could be persuaded to tell the story of her first client. De Benedetti was hired by an Italian gentleman to photograph some furniture he was manufacturing. When she handed over the photos, which were everything he had asked for, he said something scornful about 'women' and refused to pay. De Benedetti took him to court and won, but never forgot the phrasing of the magistrate's verdict: how could a true gentleman refuse to pay so charming and beautiful a young lady!

Studio De Benedetti Despite the obstacles Carla De Benedetti persevered and established her own independent studio at 1 Via Spiga, Milano. As her reputation and fame grew she established a work ethic that she would follow for the rest of her career. De Benedetti would do the professional photography of architecture and interiors for roughly 9 months of the year. She would then suspend studio business and travel the world for the remainder of the year, focusing on non-Western countries and their cultures. In the 60's and 70's she spent time in Central and South America when it was difficult not to become involved with the liberation struggles that were taking place there. In 1967, working for a Mexican publication, she was accredited as a journalist by the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California.

With respect to her professional photography commentators have said that from the middle 60's De Benedetti was in her prime. In the past 20 years, her work has appeared in most European magazines. Her work featured regularly in important periodicals like Abitare, Ambiente, Architecture d'aujordhui, Architektur und Wohnen, Casa Vogue, Domus, Hauser, House & Garden, Hinterland, Maison Francaise, Schoner Wohnen, and Vogue.

In the 1960’s De Benedetti was able to work with a variety of mainly Italian architects and interior designers: Gae Aulenti, BBPR, Marcel Breuer, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Joe Colombo, Adalberto Dal Lago, Vittorio Gregotti, Aldo Jacober, Philip Johnson, Vico Magistretti, Franco Mazzucchelli, Alessandro Meneghetti, Roberto Menghi, Bruno Sacchi, Alberto Seassaro, Giotto Stoppino, Gino Valle, and Carla Venosta.

In the 1970’s her studio became more international as she photographed the work of: Giancarlo Bicocchi, Cini Boeri, Ricardo Bofill, Oriol Bohigas, Ernesto Griffini, Romano Juvara, Richard Meier, Renzo Mongiardino, Roberto Monsani, Dario Montagni, Giorgio Pes, and Nanda Vigo.

In the 1980’s with her reputation well established her work was involved with, among others, the new generation of architects and designers: Guido Canella, Tony Cordero, Luigi Carlo Daneri, Claudio Dini, Luciano Grassi, Mark Held, Franco Mazzucchelli, Giovanni Michelucci, Rosanna Monzini, Piero Pinto, and Ettore Sottsass.

UNESCO and Africa In the mid 70's and 80's the focus of her independent research shifted to Africa, West Africa in particular. During a visit to Nigeria in 1985 she met Barry Hallen, then a professor at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). In 1986 they were wed at the local government office in Ile-Ife. Hallen had been in Nigeria for years doing research on the cultures of that country. With Carla De Benedetti as his partner photography became an important new dimension to that research.

In 1988 Carla De Benedetti and Barry Hallen were appointed co-directors of Southern Crossroads: Routes of Commerce and Culture Through West Africa and the Early Sudan, an associated project of UNESCO's Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue. With that UNESCO affiliation, the two continued to do independent research in West and East Africa during the 1980s and early 1990s. During the periods, Carla De Benedetti was creating an African photo archive. Her abilities as a trained professional photographer enabled her to record the cultures of Africa in a positive manner. The Africa photos today remain important to the archives of Studio De Benedetti.

Carla De Benedetti died in November 2013. She was buried in Africa.