There is something about a black and white photograph that conveys a certain kind of emotional response that you never get with a color image.
Now, for the first time in decades, some of the most beautiful and important images ever taken of Italian gardens are available once again in Italian Gardens: Romantic Splendor in the Edwardian Age with text by Helena Attlee and photographs by Charles Latham (Monacelli Press, 2009).
In the early 1900's Latham was a photographer for Country Life Magazine in England (still published today), and they sent him on a journey to Italy to photograph the country's finest gardens. He took along a large format camera and glass-plate negatives -- and because of their weight, he took only one carefully composed shot of each view, estimating his exposures as he went.
Country Life published a book with his photos in 1905, and a review in The Guardian said the book was "profusely illustrated with some of the finest photographs we have ever seen." And judging by the new book, that is certainly an understatement. The new book is in 9.75 x 11 inch format, and the larger-than-normal size beautifully illustrates the light and shadow and all tones in between that Latham captured in such a brilliant manner.
You may have seen pictures of Villa Lante, but nothing like the ones published in this book. Latham's work leaves out nothing: it includes the water and the statuary, the architecture and the plantings in simply amazing detail.
In all, the book has photos of 22 central Italian gardens from those at the Vatican to Villa Falconieri in Frascati, the Boboli gardens in Florence, and the Villa Medici in Rome. While many of the gardens pictured have been restored (at least in part), some of them, sadly, have been lost forever -- except in this photographic record.
If you've been to Italy or are planning a trip, the book is an invaluable resource. But even if you can't go to Italy, you can take an unforgettable trip with this lovely volume.
(click on text link to purchase book from Amazon)
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