Pretini

After Giacomelli had won the trust of the seminarians, his interaction with them was brought to an abrupt end when he provided the young men with cigars for photographs he intended to submit to a competition on the theme of smoking. The rector denied him further access. Giacomelli later applied the title I Have No Hands That Caress My Face to this series, from the first two lines of a poem by Father David Maria Turoldo (Italian, 1916–1992) about young men who seek solitary religious life. This title lends poignancy to the moments of exuberance and camaraderie that accompanied study for such a calling. This print was made relatively close to the time of the negative. Giacomelli used high-contrast paper so that the priests are clearly delineated against the background. His choice of a slow shutter speed resulted in the blurred outlines around figures caught in motion.

See other examples of works from this series ([2016.179.1](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297411/), [2016.179.6.5](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297439), [2016.179.6.6](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297440/), [2016.179.6.7](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297441), [2016.179.6.16](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297450), [2016.179.45](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297500/)). Virginia Heckert, J. Paul Getty Museum, Department of Photographs 2021