Press Release – “Ritratti senza tempo”
Photographs by Rossano B.Maniscalchi in dialogue with antiquity
Curated by Chiara Regazzi
Museo dei Marmi – Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Firenze
30/07/2025-28/10/2025
In the historic heart of Florence, within the prestigious Marble Museum of Palazzo
Medici Riccardi, comes to life “Timeless Portraits”, a photographic exhibition by
internationally acclaimed artist Rossano B. Maniscalchi. The show weaves together
art, history, and cultural reflection in a journey rich with visual and emotional
resonance.
Through a compelling and evocative visual path, Maniscalchi’s photographs—taken
over the course of his international career—enter into dialogue with Roman marble
busts in carefully crafted and meaningful pairings. The aim is not merely aesthetic,
but profoundly cultural: to question what it means to be remembered today, how the
languages of power and image evolve, and how portraiture—once carved in marble,
now captured in photography—continues to speak a universal language.
Familiar faces from our time—leaders, celebrities, artists such as Barack Obama,
Arnaldo Pomodoro, Dario Fo, Rita Levi Montalcini, the Dalai Lama, Jody Williams,
Derek Walcott, Michelangelo Antonioni, Philippe Daverio, and many others—mirror
those of emperors, philosophers, and mythological figures. Each pairing creates a
bridge between eras, forming a narrative of analogy that is both deeply personal and
profoundly collective.
The concept of a “suspended time” comes alive through this silent yet powerful
dialogue, where marble and photography become materials of reflection on vanity,
glory, and memory.
Each juxtaposition becomes a story told through resemblance: modern faces are
reflected in ancient ones, forging connections that transcend both space and
chronology. This is where the notion of suspended time emerges—an interior and
universal space in which the forms of the human resist the flow of events, becoming
lasting traces of shared memory.
The exhibition follows in the grand Florentine tradition of dialogue between the
classical and the contemporary, reviving the humanist spirit that made Florence a
cradle of thought and artistic innovation. Maniscalchi’s work—intense, essential, and
capable of revealing the soul of his subjects—finds new depth and cultural resonance
in this setting.
“Timeless Portraits” is more than an exhibition: it is a meditation on the face as a
cultural construct, as a symbol of identity, power, and memory. It is a journey through
human representation across the centuries—an invitation to look anew at what we
think we already know