Documents on Raphael is not only a rediscovery project carried out on the five hundredth anniversary of Raphael's death, but above all an operation of re-visioning.
Stefano Graziani's photographs explore the works of the artist from Urbino—with particular reference to his output as an architect—their transformation over time, and his own process that translated them into images. Graziani puts variation before permanence and reflects on the very concept of the restoration, the archive, conservation, display, and of course the original, that last so dear to the photographic debate, especially considering that Raphael never saw any of his works as we see them today. Graziani's images, combined with reliable evidence regarding Raphael's production, refer back to the most iconic classical genres of representation: landscape and still life.
"Investigating the transformative ability of photography, Graziani highlights the altered nature of his subjects. In practice, none of them correspond to the work that appeared to Raphael's eyes, yet in any case we are dealing with the result of different events and modifications occurring over the course of time. From restorations, renovations, and reconstructions to ex novo realizations based on original plans, these projects indicate the distance between past and present." —Francesco Zanot
Stefano Graziani (born 1971 in Bologna) has always been interested in photography projects in book form, and he treads along the borders between photography, art and architecture.
Graziani is the author of Questioning Pictures (Fondazione Prada, 2017); Carnac or les Alignements (a+mbookstore, 2018); Mostra Fotografica (Quodlibet 2022); Picture Window Frame (a+m bookstore 2022); The Lives of Documents (CCA Montreal / König Books, 2024). He edited the volume Jeff Wall, Gestus. Scritti sull'arte e la fotografia (Quodlibet, 2013). He is co-founder of the magazines San Rocco and Genda. His works have been exhibited internationally by institutions such as Fondazione Prada in Milan, the Venice Architecture Biennial or the European Art Biennial Manifesta. He teaches on the Master in Photography course at the IUAV in Venice, at the NABA in Milan, and at the Freie Universität in Bolzano.
Edited by Francesco Zanot.
Texts by Guido Beltramini, Frank Boehm, Bruce Boucher, Pablo Bronstein, Antonio Cataldo, Emanuel Christ, Emanuele Coccia, Ana Debenedetti, Victoria Easton, Kersten Geers, Manuel Orazi, Maddalena Scimemi, Pier Paolo Tamburelli, Ellis Woodman, Francesco Zanot.
