Between Theory and Practice: The Impact of Paola Mattioli's Works on Italian Photography and Feminism
Presentation Type
Event
Start Date
8-3-2026 6:48 AM
Description
During the Seventies, photography became a privileged means of political, artistic and personal expression for many Italian women, an indispensable tool for reclaiming and creating their own identity and image. This context provides the backdrop for the experience of Paola Mattioli, a Milanese photographer who is still active today. At the end of the Sixties, she began a profound reflection on the medium of photography, both from a practical perspective, working as an assistant to Ugo Mulas, and from a theoretical one, through courses in philosophy and aesthetics at the University of Milan. This theoretical and practical background led the photographer to conceive her work as a form of critical investigation into photography, marked by a strong theoretical awareness of the medium's expressive potential. Through a critical analysis of Paola Mattioli's most emblematic works, this contribution aims to restore visibility to a still largely unknown figure, highlighting both the role she played in the theoretical-philosophical debate on photography in Italy and her contribution to the process by which women reclaimed their own image and a medium that has long been considered the exclusive preserve of men.
Emma Colombi is a PhD student in Contemporary Art History at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, where she conducts research on the work of photographer Paola Mattioli. Her research interests concern the history of photography between the sixties and the seventies, with particular attention to the use that in this period is made of the photographic medium as an instrument, both artistic and documentary, of denunciation and participation in political and social events.
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Colombi, Emma, "Between Theory and Practice: The Impact of Paola Mattioli's Works on Italian Photography and Feminism" (2026). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day. 14.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2026/schedule/14
Between Theory and Practice: The Impact of Paola Mattioli's Works on Italian Photography and Feminism
During the Seventies, photography became a privileged means of political, artistic and personal expression for many Italian women, an indispensable tool for reclaiming and creating their own identity and image. This context provides the backdrop for the experience of Paola Mattioli, a Milanese photographer who is still active today. At the end of the Sixties, she began a profound reflection on the medium of photography, both from a practical perspective, working as an assistant to Ugo Mulas, and from a theoretical one, through courses in philosophy and aesthetics at the University of Milan. This theoretical and practical background led the photographer to conceive her work as a form of critical investigation into photography, marked by a strong theoretical awareness of the medium's expressive potential. Through a critical analysis of Paola Mattioli's most emblematic works, this contribution aims to restore visibility to a still largely unknown figure, highlighting both the role she played in the theoretical-philosophical debate on photography in Italy and her contribution to the process by which women reclaimed their own image and a medium that has long been considered the exclusive preserve of men.
Emma Colombi is a PhD student in Contemporary Art History at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, where she conducts research on the work of photographer Paola Mattioli. Her research interests concern the history of photography between the sixties and the seventies, with particular attention to the use that in this period is made of the photographic medium as an instrument, both artistic and documentary, of denunciation and participation in political and social events.