Farewell to Giovanni Gastel, one of the greatest fashion and entertainment photographers

Giovanni Gastel, one of Italy’s greatest fashion and entertainment photographers, passed away today at Milan’s Fiera Hospital at the age of 65. He had been hospitalized for a Covid-19 infection. He was born in Milan on December 27, 1955, to Giuseppe Gastel and Ida Visconti di Modrone (he was a grandson of Luchino Visconti on his mother’s side), and was the last of seven children. He had begun working in the world of photography in the 1970s, when he was very young: instead, his arrival to professionalism dates back to the early 1980s, when he began working first for Annabella and then for fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Vanity Fair, and for fashion brands such as Christian Dior, Gianni Versace, Trussardi, Krizia, and Ferragamo.

Gastel’s forays into the artistic field are also several, which can be said to have officially opened in 1997 with an exhibition of his work at the Milan Triennale, curated by Germano Celant. In the 2000s, the Milanese photographer delved into the genre of portraits, and with his camera he captured personalities such as Barack Obama, Ettore Sottsass, Marco Pannella, Roberto Bolle, Gianna Nannini and many other well-known faces from the world of entertainment. In 2020, a major exhibition of his had been held at MAXXI in Rome with more than 200 portraits from the world of culture, design, art, music, politics, and entertainment.

“Covid has also snatched Giovanni Gastel from us,” said Cultural Heritage Minister Dario Franceschini. “Italian photography loses a great protagonist loved and esteemed all over the world. An original, graceful artist with a profound aesthetic sense who, with his shots, was able to portray and capture the intimacy of the great personalities of fashion and international culture. Only a few months ago I had the honor of visiting with him his last beautiful exhibition at MAXXI that documented an important part of his work as an artist in over forty years of activity. We will miss his art and his intelligence.”

Farewell to Giovanni Gastel, one of the greatest fashion and entertainment photographers

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