Scanno, no. 57

Even when congregating, subjects seem to be isolated or lost in thought. Whether in sharp focus or blurred by movement, the occasional individual who looks directly into his camera suggests a sense of mystery or furtiveness. Giacomelli used a slow shutter speed and shallow depth of field to photograph these stark, black-clad figures against whitewashed architectural settings, introducing indistinct passages that amplify the fairy-tale mood of a town that appears to be irretrievably steeped in the past.

See other examples of works from the Scanno series ([2016.179.5.12](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297427/), [2016.179.7](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297453/), [2016.179.6.14](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297448/), [2016.179.26](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297475), [2016.179.30](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297479/), [2016.179.35](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297484/), [2016.179.39](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297489/), [2016.179.41](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297492/), [2016.179.44](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297498/), [2016.179.61](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297520/), 2019.176.5).

Included in the 1981 portfolio La gente (People), this print demonstrates Giacomelli’s penchant for emphasizing the graphic qualities of his photographs. Less interested in describing the world in a range of gradually incremented gray tones, he preferred to set deep blacks against brilliant whites, which he achieved by printing on high-contrast paper. The image of a lone Scanno townswoman approaching from the left and men gathered in the distance could easily be mistaken for a screenprint or movie poster. For another image from this portfolio, see also ([2016.179.6.17](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/297451)). Virginia Heckert, J. Paul Getty Museum, Department of Photographs 2021