About a New Definition of Italian Photographic Modernism Between the 1920s and 1930s: Theoretical Approaches and Material Sources

This paper examines the concept and definition of Modernism within Italian photographic culture between the 1920s and 1930s. It presents the first outcomes of a PhD project and thesis, and explores its potential for broader methodological development. The discussion addresses several urgent questions—so far largely overlooked—in order to reflect on the participation of Italian photographic culture in shaping a complex definition of Modernism, understood as a cultural tendency rather than merely an interpretative category. How can we define photographic Modernism in Italy during the 1920s and 1930s in relation to the theoretical debate on this subject and within an international context? What methodological and historical-cultural tools can be employed to articulate new horizons of meaning? What kinds of sources can we interrogate? In this research, magazines are among the most valuable heuristic sources for investigating Italian Modernism. Some examples of Italian magazines will be presented and discussed, considering them as theoretical and material laboratories of Italian photographic Modernism.